Allahabad High Court Stays Defamation Case Against Hindustan Editor-in-Chief

The Allahabad High Court has stayed criminal defamation proceedings against Shashi Shekhar, Editor-in-Chief of the Hindi daily Hindustan, in a case filed by a railway official over a newspaper report concerning his arrest in an alleged illegal Sheesham tree-cutting case linked to railway property in Uttar Pradesh.

The bench of Justice Brij Raj Singh passed the interim order while hearing a petition filed by Shekhar under Section 482 CrPC (corresponding to Section 528 of the BNSS) seeking quashing of the complaint proceedings as well as the summoning order issued by a Gonda court.

The complaint case was instituted by Dileep Kumar Verma, who was working as Station Superintendent at Swami Narayan Chapiya Railway Station under the North Eastern Railway. As per the records, certain Sheesham trees were allegedly cut from railway premises, following which an FIR was registered against Verma under Section 3 of the Railway Property (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1966 at the RPF Post in Basti district.

The order notes that Verma was arrested in the case and subsequently released on bail. The Hindustan newspaper had published a report regarding the criminal case and the arrest, after which Verma filed a criminal defamation complaint in 2020 alleging damage to his reputation.

Taking cognizance of the complaint, the Civil Judge (Junior Division)/FTC-I/Judicial Magistrate, Gonda, passed a summoning order on December 6, 2025, summoning Shekhar to face trial under Section 500 IPC [corresponding to Section 356 (2) of the BNS].

Appearing for Shekhar before the high court, his counsel argued that the Editor-in-Chief had been falsely implicated and that there was no specific allegation or statement attributable to him personally. Counsel further submitted that the newspaper report was based entirely on the existence of the FIR and the arrest made in the criminal case.

He contended that even the averments made by the complainant in the defamation complaint, along with statements recorded under Sections 200 and 202 CrPC, acknowledged the factum of arrest.

After hearing the submissions, the high court observed that the matter required consideration and issued notice to the complainant. Pending further hearing, court stayed proceedings in the case pending before the Gonda magistrate court.

Case Title: Shashi Shekhar vs. The State Of U.P. Thru. Addl. Chief Secy. Home Lko. And Another

Order Date: May 11, 2026

Bench: Justice Brij Raj Singh