Being in the Law profession will bring different opportunities to work on different cases with different people. To make this easy, educational platforms with the help of technology have brought the option of online legal courses to help law aspirants acquire legal knowledge and feasible skills. Let’s know about one such topic which provides numerous exposure opportunities. As we all know, all sections mentioned in the Indian Penal Code are a must-learning component for law students in order to create a successful career in the legal profession, one of those is Section 499. In the Indian Penal Code, Section 499 is;
“Section 499, Defamation: Whoever by words either spoken or intended to be read, or by signs or by visual representations, makes, or publishes any imputation concerning any person intending to harm or knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm, the reputation of such person, is said, except in the cases hereinafter excepted, to defame that person.”
With the freedom of speech and expression comes the concept of defamation, as it is two sides of a single coin. The common law for Defamation is a necessity as with the right of Article 19 anyone can harm the reputation of others without any fear. Let us first understand what defamation is, in simple legal terms “ any intentional false communication with third parties that damages a human reputation and diminishes respect, regard and trust is considered defamation”.
Essential Elements of Defamation:
There are a few elements which are essential for considering a statement defamatory, some of them are as follows;
Statement must be made, this means a statement either written or spoken or sign or visual representation must be made.
Statement must be defamatory, the beginning of the defamation starts with the statement that is made with the intention of harming a person’s image and reputation in front of other people. This can change an individual’s whole life and their hard-earned reputation can be tarnished with a few words. But criticising goods with a good intention is not included in defamation.
Statement must refer to the plaintiff, the person, group of persons or industry or organization who is filing the complaint about defamation and must prove that the statement was directed to them, that might not include the plaintiff’s name but people can recognize them through the statement.
Statement must be False, the statement must be not true as it is an important part of the defamation case because if it is true then there is no defamation.
Statement must cause harm, through the statement plaintiff must bear any sort of loss whether loss of job because of a statement or they get banned from the society or endure professional or personal injury.
Statement must be published, for the statement to be defamatory, the statement must be known to a third party in any form i.e; spoken, written, sign or visual representation. A written statement in someone’s diary or journal cannot count as defamation until and unless the writer writes it with an intention to be read by third parties then it is defamatory.
These are some circumstances on which the defamation depends, for law aspirants it is necessary to know all the elements so that in future they can take a good stand for their clients. For this, there are many free online legal certification courses available to learn all these elements from industry experts. Remember, the whole case of defamation is based on these elements and if these requirements are not met then the case can be dismissed.
There are two types of defamation namely libel and slander. In India, there is both civil and criminal law for defamation. To make a career in the legal profession it is necessary to understand the difference between slander and libel, many legal learning platforms are providing online legal certification courses on defamation, where they explain both of these with examples of defamation cases, to give a better understanding. Let us first understand is difference between libel and slander.
Libel: If the defamatory statement made is written and published then it is known as libel.
Slander: If a defamatory statement is spoken, then it is known as slander. This is communicated to third parties and with malicious intent.
Defences against Defamation: There are few exceptions in the case of defamation, which can work for the defence of defamation, a lawyer must know about these defences, as they are important for defending or accusing someone regarding defamation. The following are the mentioned exceptions;
Truth: The best defence against defamation is truth. If a statement’s truthfulness can be proved with evidence, then there is no case of defamation. Proving truthfulness doesn't mean that the defendant will prove that the statement was for public interest or was not intended maliciously. If the defendant or the lawyer for the defence is unable to prove that the statement is true then the defence is of no avail.
Privilege: Privilege means “ a special right or advantage”, in special and exceptional cases where the plaintiff’s right to defamation fails to give them the opportunity to file a complaint against the offender, such situations are not prosecutable. There are two types of privilege: Absolute privilege and Qualified privilege. Both of these privileges come in effect in certain cases and they also include parliamentary proceedings & judicial proceedings.
Fair Comments: The right to fair comment and criticism recognizes that the statement which may be defamatory can be published or spoken without being an offence under defamation. So, Nothing is defamatory if it is a fair comment in public interest Fair and honest opinion on a matter concerning public interest is protected even if it is not true. But for this condition to be met the statement must look like an opinion rather than a fact.
Punishments of Defamation: Defamation is a serious offence, so the punishment regarding this is also severe and non-bailable. For the punishment related to the offence of the defamation, there is a section mentioned in the Indian Penal Code, i.e,
“Section 500 IPC– Whoever defames another shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which extends to two years, or with fine, or with both.”
In the above blog, all the information related to defamation, its elements, types, defences and punishments are given. Law aspirants are supposed to learn all this, and the rise in defamation cases is also tremendous. So that makes it one of the important sections of a lawyer's career.Online law certification courses in India provide career-oriented knowledge about these topics and also teach relevant skills and also share the experience of top legal professionals in such cases. Other than law aspirants having information about defamation is also necessary for all people. As this can happen to anyone at any time in any place.