Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Chilling effect: On defamation, free speech and the Rahul Gandhi case

Chilling effect: On defamation, free speech and the Rahul Gandhi case

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s conviction (दोषसिद्धि) and jail term flags need to abolish criminal defamation (मानहानि)

The rigours (कठोरता, सख़्ती, अनम्यता) of the law and the tribulations (problems, troubles, difficulties) of politics have come together to bedevil (afflict, torment, trouble, harass, persecute) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. An election-time jibe (barb, dig, slur, slight, insinuation, cutting/mocking remark, insult, affront) he had made in 2019 — ‘how come all of these thieves have Modi in their names?’ — has been declared by a court in Surat to be defamatory (defaming, abusive, mud-slinging, disparaging, insulting). Mr. Gandhi has been sentenced (pass judgement on, impose a sentence on, pronounce sentence on, mete out punishment to, punish, convict) to two years in prison, the maximum sentence for criminal defamation, and disqualified from his membership in the Lok Sabha. Both the conviction and sentence raise legal questions. Does the remark amount to (be equal to, be equivalent to, be tantamount to, represent) defaming anyone in particular (विशेष रूप से), or to people with the surname ‘Modi’ as a group? Case law indicates that the expression (अभिव्यक्ति) ‘collection of persons’ used in Section 499 of the IPC (it states that any words spoken, read, or gestured with the intention of harming a person’s reputation is to be considered defamation and attract legal punishments), with reference to (के संदर्भ में) those who can be defamed (बदनाम करना, अपमान), has to be an identifiable (पहचान योग्य, प्रत्यक्ष) class or group and that the particular member who initiates criminal proceedings (कार्यवाही, मुकदमा) for defamation must demonstrate personal harm or injury by the alleged (कथित, माना जाता है) defamatory statement. It is difficult to sustain (कायम रखना) the argument that all those with the surname, and not merely the three individuals including Prime Minister Narendra Modi who were referred to, can be aggrieved (disgruntle, dissatisfy, be unhappy, be upset, be annoyed, disappoint) persons. Also, it is not clear if the complainant (शिकायतकर्ता), BJP MLA Purnesh Modi, had shown that he was aggrieved (पीड़ित, असंतुष्ट) by the alleged slur (jibe, barb, dig, slight, insinuation, cutting/mocking remark, insult, affront) either personally or as a member of the ‘Modi’ group.

The maximum sentence is also troubling (परेशान). Statutes (law, act, decree, bill, Act of Parliament, fiat, dictum, resolution, ruling, rule, ordinance) prescribe (stipulate, lay down, determine, establish, formulate) maximum jail terms so that trial courts (a court of law where cases are tried at first. (try means to investigate and decide (a case) in a formal trial)) use their discretion (liking, wish, desire, preference, disposition. choice) to award punishments in proportion (according to a particular, correct or appropriate relationship between things with regard to, size, quantity, number, etc) to the gravity (importance, top priority, necessity, exigency, seriousness) of the crime. It is questionable whether attacking an indeterminate (undetermined, undefined, unspecified, indefinite, unspecific, indistinct) set of people with a general remark will amount to defamation, and even if it did, whether it is so grave (terrible ,awful serious; crucial/critical, important/significant) as to (with reference to, with regard to; regarding, concerning someone or something) warrant (justify, validate, uphold, endorse, call for, legitimize, support) the maximum sentence. The correctness (morality, rightness, propriety, appropriateness, good manners, decency) of the judgment will be decided on appeal, but the political cost (loss, suffering, drawback, disadvantage) to Mr. Gandhi in the form of disqualification from the House (parliament) and from electoral contest will have a lasting (long-term, constant, continuing, unending, persistent, permanent, indelible) impact, unless he obtains a stay (it is defined as the act of temporarily stopping or postponing any judicial proceeding through the court or legal authorities in India, in order to secure the rights of a citizen) on the conviction rather than mere suspension (termination, elimination, removal, rejection) of sentence. In a country that often frets (worry, be upset, be distressed; trouble, bother, make anxious, disturb) over criminalisation (the process of making something as a illegal/illegitimate one) of politics, corruption and hate speeches (abusive or disrespectful speech), it is ironic (strange, unexpected, odd, paradoxical) that criminal defamation should overwhelm (affect, disturb, shake, devastate, blow away) the political career of a prominent leader. A modern democracy should not treat defamation as a criminal offence (crime, wrongdoing, illegal act, misdeed; breach, violation of the law) at all. It is a legacy (something received from a predecessor or from the past) of an era in which questioning authority (the government, the establishment, the system, the bureaucracy, the powers that be) was considered a grave crime. In contemporary (present-day, current, modern) times, criminal defamation mainly acts as a tool (device, mechanism, gimmick, instrument, apparatus) to suppress (crack down on, clamp down on, repress, overpower, crush, conquer; prevent, halt, destroy, stifle, obstruct, impede) criticism of public servants and corporate misdeeds (criminal act, illegal act, crime, misconduct, offence). In 2016, the Supreme Court upheld criminal defamation without adequate regard (consideration, concern, thought, attention, interest) to the chilling (frightening, terrifying, disturbing/horrifying) effect it has on free speech, and to that, one must now add, political opposition and dissent. Opposition parties expressing dismay (shock, surprise, distress, anxiety, concern) at the verdict against Mr. Gandhi should include abolishing criminal defamation in their agenda.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.defamation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मानहानि
English Meaning - it is defined as spoken or written words or visible representations, concerning any person intended to harm his/her reputation; character assassination, libel, misrepresentation, vilification, backbiting, abuse, scandalmongering, malicious gossip.

2.free speech (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मुक्त भाषण
English Meaning - the right to express one’s opinions publicly (without any restraint).

3.conviction (noun)

Hindi Meaning - दोषसिद्धि
English Meaning - sentence, judgement, verdict.

4.rigour (noun)

Hindi Meaning - कठोरता, सख़्ती, अनम्यता
English Meaning - strictness, severity, sternness, harshness, rigidity, inflexibility.

5.defame (verb)

Hindi Meaning - बदनाम करना, अपमान
English Meaning - libel, slander, insult, tarnish, back-bite, disparage, denigrate, discredit, slur.

6.in particular (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - विशेष रूप से
English Meaning - specifically, especially, particularly.

7.expression (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अभिव्यक्ति
English Meaning - utterance, statement, pronouncement.

8.with reference to (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - के संदर्भ में
English Meaning - with regard to, with respect to, regarding.

9.identifiable (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - पहचान योग्य, प्रत्यक्ष
English Meaning - distinguishable, recognizable, known, discernible.

10.proceeding (noun)

Hindi Meaning - कार्यवाही, मुकदमा
English Meaning - legal action, legal proceedings, lawsuit, case; trial, hearing.

11.alleged (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - कथित, माना जाता है
English Meaning - supposed, so-called, claimed, professed, reported, ostensible.

12.sustain (verb)

Hindi Meaning - कायम रखना
English Meaning - validate, uphold, affirm, confirm, verify, prove, justify.

13.aggrieved (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - पीड़ित, असंतुष्ट
English Meaning - disgruntled, dissatisfied, unhappy, upset, annoyed, disappointed.

14.complainant (noun)

Hindi Meaning - शिकायतकर्ता
English Meaning - litigator, appellant, claimant, plaintiff.

15.troubling (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - परेशान
English Meaning - upsetting, disturbing, concerning, irritating.

16.chilling (adjective)

English Meaning - frightening, terrifying, disturbing/horrifying.

17.flag (verb)

English Meaning - indicate, point out, identify; draw attention to something.

18.abolish (verb)

English Meaning - quash, get rid of, discard, remove, eliminate, discontinue, cancel.

19.tribulations (noun)

English Meaning - problems, troubles, difficulties.

20.bedevil (verb)

English Meaning - afflict, torment, trouble, harass, persecute.

21.jibe (noun)

English Meaning - barb, dig, slur, slight, insinuation, cutting/mocking remark, insult, affront.

22.defamatory (adjective)

English Meaning - defaming, abusive, mud-slinging, disparaging, insulting.

23.sentence (verb)

English Meaning - pass judgement on, impose a sentence on, pronounce sentence on, mete out punishment to, punish, convict.

24.amount to (verb)

English Meaning - be equal to, be equivalent to, be tantamount to, represent.

25.Indian Penal Code (IPC) (noun)

English Meaning - The Indian Penal Code (IPC) is the official criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. The draft was passed into law on 6 October 1860. The Code came into operation on 1 January 1862. The Indian Penal Code of 1860, sub-divided into 23 chapters, comprises 511 sections. IPC deals with crimes and punishments.

26.Section 499 of the IPC (noun)

English Meaning - it states that any words spoken, read, or gestured with the intention of harming a person’s reputation is to be considered defamation and attract legal punishments.

27.Section 500 of the IPC (noun)

English Meaning - it states that a person found guilty of this crime “shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.”

28.aggrieve (verb)

English Meaning - disgruntle, dissatisfy, be unhappy, be upset, be annoyed, disappoint.

29.slur (noun)

English Meaning - jibe, barb, dig, slight, insinuation, cutting/mocking remark, insult, affront.

30.statute (noun)

English Meaning - law, act, decree, bill, Act of Parliament, fiat, dictum, resolution, ruling, rule, ordinance.

31.prescribe (verb)

English Meaning - stipulate, lay down, determine, establish, formulate.

32.trial court (noun)

English Meaning - a court of law where cases are tried at first. (try means to investigate and decide (a case) in a formal trial).

33.discretion (noun)

English Meaning - liking, wish, desire, preference, disposition. choice.

34.in proportion (phrase)

English Meaning - according to a particular, correct or appropriate relationship between things with regard to, size, quantity, number, etc.

35.gravity (noun)

English Meaning - importance, top priority, necessity, exigency, seriousness.

36.indeterminate (adjective)

English Meaning - undetermined, undefined, unspecified, indefinite, unspecific, indistinct.

37.grave (adjective)

English Meaning - terrible ,awful serious; crucial/critical, important/significant.

38.as to (phrase)

English Meaning - with reference to, with regard to; regarding, concerning someone or something.

39.warrant (verb)

English Meaning - justify, validate, uphold, endorse, call for, legitimize, support.

40.correctness (noun)

English Meaning - morality, rightness, propriety, appropriateness, good manners, decency.

41.cost (noun)

English Meaning - loss, suffering, drawback, disadvantage.

42.the House (noun)

English Meaning - parliament.

43.lasting (adjective)

English Meaning - long-term, constant, continuing, unending, persistent, permanent, indelible.

44.stay (verb)

English Meaning - stop, delay, or prevent something temporarily (a judicial proceeding/trial through the order of a court).

45.stay (order) (noun)

English Meaning - it is defined as the act of temporarily stopping or postponing any judicial proceeding through the court or legal authorities in India, in order to secure the rights of a citizen.

46.suspension (noun)

English Meaning - termination, elimination, removal, rejection.

47.fret (verb)

English Meaning - worry, be upset, be distressed; trouble, bother, make anxious, disturb.

48.fret over (someone or something) (phrase)

English Meaning - to feel anxious, disturbed, troubled or concerned about someone or something; to be vexed, to be annoyed.

49.criminalisation (noun)

English Meaning - the process of making something as a illegal/illegitimate one.

50.hate speech (noun)

English Meaning - abusive or disrespectful speech.

51.ironic (adjective)

English Meaning - strange, unexpected, odd, paradoxical.