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Court held that the entire article published by the bi-weekly Tamil magazine that DMK's TR Balu made a speech and called Rahul Gandhi a 'small boy' were made without confirming the veracity of the news and it was published with a calculated intention of defaming Balu
The Madras High Court on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, directed the publishers of the Tamil bi-weekly magazine Junior Vikatan to pay Rs 25 lakh in damages to senior DMK leader and former Union Minister T.R. Balu for publishing defamatory articles against him. Court found that the magazine had failed to verify facts before publishing, thereby tarnishing Balu’s reputation.
"Calling a top leader of the Congress party who was the prime ministerial candidate of the UPA in 2014 as 'Small boy' is certainly offensive and attributing such words to the Plaintiff is purely out of ill will with an intention to defame the Plaintiff by tarnishing his image and reputation in the minds in the political leaders and the general public," said the single judge bench of Justice A.A. Nakkiran.
The case, filed in 2014, arose from two articles published by Junior Vikatan on March 28, 2012, and December 22, 2013. Baau contended that these articles falsely accused him of misappropriating funds in the Sethusamudram project and making derogatory remarks about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The first article suggested that public money had been wasted on the project and implied that Balu was the sole beneficiary. The second article claimed that Balu, at a DMK general body meeting, had dismissed Rahul Gandhi as a "small boy" in politics.
The high court, while dismissing claims related to the 2012 article due to the statute of limitations, found the 2013 publication to be defamatory. Justice Nakkiran noted that the defendants had failed to provide evidence that Balu had made such a statement and that the news was published without proper verification. He emphasized that freedom of the press is not absolute and does not permit publishing unverified and misleading content.
During cross-examination, the magazine’s representative admitted that journalists were not present inside the DMK general body meeting when Balu allegedly made the remarks. Court concluded that the article was published with an intent to harm Balu’s reputation, particularly in the political sphere.
Although the court awarded damages, it declined to grant Balu’s request for a permanent injunction preventing future publications about him. However, the judgement underscored the importance of responsible journalism and the legal consequences of defamatory reporting.
The publishers of Junior Vikatan, Vasan Publications Pvt. Ltd., have been given one month to pay the compensation amount.
Case Title: T.R.Balu Vs. R.Kannan Editor - Junior Vikatan and Others
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