Topic Of The Day:-An Opportunity For Change
It is the courts that must now confront these questions. And the courts now have a fresh opportunity: this is no longer about an abstract challenging to the constitutionality of criminal defamation, but a live issue about the relationship between our legal system and a social movement aimed at publicly redressing long-standing injustices.
More than 50 years ago, courts in another country were faced with this challenge. In the 1960s, the American civil rights movement found itself under siege: States in the deep south not only violently reacted to the movement, but also filed defamation claims against newspapers, to stop them from covering it. Small factual errors in reports were picked up, and massive defamation suits were filed to harass and bankrupt reporters and newspapers. The New York Times, for example, was found liable for the crippling sum of $50,000, for its coverage of a civil rights protest in Montgomery, Alabama. When these defamation verdicts were challenged before the Supreme Court, therefore, no less than the fate of the civil rights movement was in its hands.
The U.S. Supreme Court responded. In one of the most famous judgments in its history, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan(1964), it substantially modified defamation law to ensure that it could no longer be used as a tool of harassment and blackmail. Articulating a very high threshold of “actual malice”, the court ensured that journalists could go about their job without fear, as long as they did not intentionally or recklessly make outright false statements. Nothing less than this, the court held, was required by the constitutional right to freedom of expression, and a free press.
In 2018, our courts are now faced with a similar situation: a vitally important public movement is threatened by the heavy hand of the law of defamation. And, like the American courts at the time of the civil rights movement, our courts too have a golden opportunity. They may, for one, choose to revisit the constitutionality of criminal defamation. But even without that, there are enough ways to judicially interpret Section 499 to ensure that it no longer remains the tool of the powerful to blackmail, harass, and silence inconvenient speech. Incorporating the Sullivan standard into the law might be a start; but the interpretive possibilities are endless. All that we need is for the courts to understand what is at stake, and respond with the courage and the sensitivity that these times demand of them.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) confront
Meaning : come face to face with (someone) with hostile or argumentative intent.(v)
Synonyms : defy , brave
Antonyms : avoid
Example : “300 policemen confronted an equal number of union supporters”(v)
2) upheaval
Meaning : a violent or sudden change or disruption to something.
Synonyms : commotion
Antonyms : peace
Example : “major upheavals in the financial markets”
3) perpetuate
Meaning : make (something) continue indefinitely.(v)
Synonyms : preserve
Antonyms : stop
Example : “the confusion was perpetuated through inadvertence”(v)
4) suppressed
Meaning : forcibly put an end to.(v)
Synonyms : restrain
Antonyms : free
Example : “the rising was savagely suppressed”(v)
5) abusive
Meaning : extremely offensive and insulting.(adj)
Synonyms : insulting , scurrilous
Antonyms : kind
Example : “the goalkeeper was sent off for using abusive language”(adj)
6) siege
Meaning : a military operation in which enemy forces surround a town or building, cutting off essential supplies, with the aim of compelling those inside to surrender.(n)
Synonyms : blockade attack
Example : “Verdun had withstood a siege of ten weeks”(n)
7) bankrupt
Meaning : (of a person or organization) declared in law as unable to pay their debts.
Synonyms : beggar , pauper
Antonyms : rich
Example : “his father went bankrupt and the family had to sell their home”
8) liable
Meaning : responsible by law; legally answerable.
Synonyms : responsible
Antonyms : exempt
Example : “the credit-card company is liable for any breach of contract”
9) crippling
Meaning : cause (someone) to become unable to walk or move properly.(v)
Synonyms : disabling
Antonyms : medical
Example : “a young student was crippled for life”(v)
10) verdicts
Meaning : a decision on an issue of fact in a civil or criminal case or an inquest.
Synonyms : judgments
Antonyms : requests
Example : “the jury returned a verdict of not guilty”
11) Articulating
Meaning : pronounce (something) clearly and distinctly.
Synonyms : emitting , talking
Antonyms : mute
Example : “he articulated each word with precision”
12) reckless
Meaning : heedless of danger or the consequences of one’s actions; rash or impetuous(adj).
Synonyms : rash , careless
Antonyms : prudent
Example : “you mustn’t be so reckless”(adj).
13) revisit
Meaning : come back to or visit again.(v)
Synonyms : return , frequent
Antonyms : leave
Example : “she was anxious to revisit some of her old haunts in Paris”(v)
14) interpretive
Meaning : relating to or providing an interpretation.(adj)
Synonyms : explanatory
Antonyms : uninstructive
Example : “activities designed to reinforce students’ interpretative skills”(adj).
