Source: Calcutta High Court

Why in News?

Recently, a bench of Justice Shampa Dutt held that “The printing of leaflets containing the prima facie defamatory material also makes out a prima facie case under Section 501 Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC)”.

• The Calcutta High Court gave this observation in the case of Anindya Das v. State of West Bengal.

What was the Background of Anindya Das v. State of West Bengal Case?

• The petitioner, Anindya Das, is a businessman and a member of an organization called "Bharat Jagaran Andolan" or "Awaken India Movement" (AIM).
• On 11^th January 2022, a covid-19 vaccination program was being conducted for school students aged 15-18 years near a Girls' High School.
• The petitioner and two others were announcing and distributing leaflets discouraging students from taking the covid-19 vaccine, claiming it is detrimental to human health.
  • The leaflets also mentioned the alleged deaths of two girls, Karunya (from South India) and Rithayika (from North-East India), after taking the vaccine.
• The police filed a case against the petitioner and two others under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) and the Disaster Management Act, 2005

What were the Court’s Observations?

• The court found that the petitioner's conduct of distributing leaflets and discouraging vaccination prima facie constituted offences under several sections including Section 501 of IPC.
• The court observed that the petitioner's actions were likely to cause panic among the public, discourage them from taking the vaccine and wearing masks, and were against the government's efforts for public welfare.
• The court dismissed the petitioner's revision petition and allowed the criminal proceedings to continue for the mentioned offences.

What is Section 501 of IPC?

Printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory.—

• Whoever prints or engraves any matter, knowing or having good reason to believe that such matter is defamatory of any person, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
• It is a Compoundable, Non-Cognizable and Bailable offence.
• It is triable by Judicial Magistrate First Class and Court of Sessions.