Allahabad HC Sets Aside Defamation Summons Against Journalists Over Publishing Brij Bhushan’s Letters to CM

The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court has set aside a summoning order against two journalists from the newspaper 'Sunday Views', in a defamation case filed by a local advocate. The defamation case pertained to an online article published by 'Sunday Views' on November 6, 2022 titled “Mohammad Kamran ‘Patrakar Nahi, Blackmailer Hai’: Sansad Brij Bhushan Singh", which was based on a letter written by Singh to CM Yogi Adityanath.

These letters, sent to the Chief Minister and Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh, claimed that Dr. Mohd. Kamran was a blackmailer with several pending criminal cases, including ones for extortion, theft, and molestation. The news story in the 'Sunday Views' essentially repeated the allegations from these letters.

The complainant, Dr. Mohd. Kamran, an advocate, alleged that the publication by Divya Srivastava and Sanjay Srivastava, the owner and editor of the newspaper respectively, had damaged his reputation.

Following the complaint, the Special Chief Judicial Magistrate (Customs), Lucknow, had on April 10, 2023, summoned the journalists to face trial under Sections 500, 501, and 502 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), dealing with defamation and sale of defamatory matter.

However, the journalists challenged this order before the High Court under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), arguing that the Magistrate had failed to apply a proper legal and judicial mind to the case. Their counsel, Adv. Shivendra S. Singh Rathore, highlighted that the Magistrate's order did not adequately consider the legal aspects, including the exceptions provided under Section 500 IPC, which protect certain forms of publication, particularly those made in public interest and good faith.

"The Magistrate in accordance with various pronouncements on the issue ought to have applied his mind to the case set up in the complaint, as well as the statement(s) recorded in terms of Sections 200 and 202 CrPC, before summoning an accused in exercise of power under Section 204 CrPC. The Magistrate was/is also under an obligation to consider the relevant law on the issue. In the instant case, however, the Magistrate has failed to apply his mind as required for the purposes of summoning an accused in exercise of power under Section 204 CrPC and therefore, interference in the summoning order dated 10.04.2023 is required," he contended.

The counsel also pointed out a crucial detail that the original accusation was rooted in letters authored by Member of Parliament Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who himself faced a related defamation complaint from Dr. Kamran. This complaint against the MP was subsequently quashed by the High Court, a decision that was upheld by the Supreme Court. This decision, the applicants argued, should have been a key consideration for the Magistrate.

He relied upon various precedents including the judgment(s) passed in the case(s) of Afshan Meerza vs. State of West Bengal and Another; 2022 SCC OnLine Cal 4126, GHCL Employees Stock Option Trust vs. India Infoline Ltd.; (2013) 4 SCC 505; Criminal Appeal No. 817 of 2025 [Arising out of SLP (Crl.) No.16153 of 2024] (Neelam Raaj vs. M/s Bid and Hammer Auctioneers Pvt. Ltd.) dated 18.02.2025.

The counsel for the complainant, Adv. Pramod Kumar Shukla, was also unable to dispute the core argument that the summoning order was not properly reasoned.

Accepting the applicants' contentions, the bench of Justice Saurabh Lavania noted that the Magistrate had indeed "not considered all the aspects of the case including the law on the issue".

Accrodingly, considering the aforesaid aspects of the case, as also the judgment(s) referred above, and also the prayer sought at this stage in the instant application, court allowed the application of the journalists.

Court remanded the matter to the Magistrate concerned to pass afresh order, after considering the entire aspects of the case, including the law referred above, by means of reasoned and speaking order

Case Title: Divya Srivastava And Another vs. State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home Civil Secrt. Lko. And Another

Order Date: September 3, 2025

Bench: Justice Saurabh Lavania