Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court for quashing six criminal defamation cases against him filed by the Tamil Nadu government.
A Bench led by Justice Dipak Misra agreed to hear his application on September 7 (Monday). The application comes in the backdrop of the Supreme Court reserving its judgment on a batch of writ petitions challenging the constitutionality of criminal defamation as a penal offence, saying it has a chilling effect on free speech. Dr. Swamy was the lead petitioner in that case.
In his writ petition, Dr. Swamy challenged the constitutional validity of Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (relating to criminal defamation), contending that these provisions violated the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution on freedom of speech and expression.
“These provisions,” he said, “are a throwback to an earlier repressive British regime and they run counter to the international benchmarks on freedom, particularly of the media.”
