Himachal Pradesh High Court
Reserved On:12.11.2025 vs Tejwant Singh Negi on 1 December, 2025
2025:HHC:40794
IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA
Cr. Appeal No. 481 of 2012-C
Reserved on:12.11.2025
Date of Decision: 01.12.2025
.
Jagat Singh Negi
....Petitioner
Versus
Tejwant Singh Negi,
....Respondent
Coram
Hon'ble Mr Justice Rakesh Kainthla, Judge.
of
Whether approved for reporting?
For the Petitioner : Mr Udit Shaurya Kaushik, Advocate
vice Mr. Nitin Thakur, Advocate.
For the Respondent
rt : Mr. Arvind Sharma, Advocate.
Rakesh Kainthla, Judge
The present appeal is directed against the judgment dated 02.06.2012, passed by learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kinnuar, District at Reckongpeo (learned Trial Court) vide which the respondent (accused before the learned Trial Court) was acquitted of the commission of an offence punishable under section 500 of IPC. (The parties shall hereinafter be referred to in the same manner as they were arrayed before the learned Trial Court for convenience.)
2. Briefly stated, the facts giving rise to the present appeal are that the complainant filed a complaint before the Whether reporters of the local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? Yes ::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 2 2025:HHC:40794 learned Trial Court for the commission of an offence punishable under Section 500 of the IPC. It was asserted that the complainant .
belongs to a respectable family of Village Kalpa, Tehsil Kalpa, District Kinnuar, H.P. He was a Member of the Legislative Assembly, H.P. Vidhan Sabha, elected from 1-Kinnuar (Scheduled Tribe) assembly constituency. He was also the President of the of District Congress Committee, Kinnaur and the President of H.P. Football Association. He is well well-known character and a man rt of great stature and repute. He is widely acclaimed and respected as a social and political personality. The accused belongs to a rival political party. He contested the election against the complainant and lost by a huge margin of more than seven thousand votes.
The accused started a campaign of vilification and character assassination against the complainant. He made allegations against the complainant, which were widely reported in the newspaper. The news item reported in 'Divya Himachal' newspaper in the issue of 26th April, 2006 is as under:-
सगे-स बि धय के सेवा म लगे ह िवधायक ।
English translation:-
MLA in the service of kith and kins.::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 3
2025:HHC:40794 Inter alia reported as under:-
कां स े के आठ मंि य के साथ-साथ क ौर के िवधायक भी ाचार म िल .
है।
अपने भाई को फायदा प ँचाने के िलए सतलुज तट पर सरकारी भूिम म शर लगवा कर किथत अवैध रेत, बजरी बेची जा रही है । English Translation:
Along with the eight Congress Ministers, MLA Kinnaur is also involved in the corruption. To benefit his of brother, he installed a crusher on the government land on Satluj Bed and illegally selling sand and concrete.
3. rt These imputations were made by the accused to harm the reputation of the complainant in the eyes of the general public, and they adversely affected the complainant's reputation.
These imputations are false to the knowledge of the accused;
therefore, it was prayed that an action be taken against the accused as per the law.
4. Learned Trial Court recorded preliminary evidence and found sufficient reasons to summon the accused. When the accused appeared, a notice of accusation was put to him for the commission of an offence punishable under Section 500 of the IPC, to which he pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried.
::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 42025:HHC:40794
5. The complainant examined seven witnesses to prove his case. M.R. Dogra (CW-1) is Editor. Bishesher Negi (CW-2) is .
the correspondent who participated in the press conference and deposed about the imputations made by the accused. Jagat Singh Negi (CW-3) is the complainant. Naresh Negi (CW-4), Amar Chand (CW-5), Khem Singh (CW-6), and Pitambar Dass (CW-7) of proved that they had read the imputations and the image of the complainant was lowered in their eyes.
6. rt The accused, in his statement recorded under Section 313 of Cr.P.C., admitted that he had made allegations against the complainant, the news item was published in Divya Himachal based on the statements made by him in the press conference, and these statements were reported by Bishesher Negi (CW-2). He stated that the land was demarcated twice. The crusher is on the government land. The crusher was in the name of Smt. Chandra, who is the sister-in-law of the complainant. Whatever he had stated was based on the facts. The witnesses had their personal opinions, and they belonged to a rival political party. The present complaint was made due to political rivalry. He had no intention of lowering the estimation of any person. The complainant and ::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 5 2025:HHC:40794 his father were habitual of filing false complaints against poor persons. A false case was made against him due to political .
rivalry. He examined Sar Chander Negi (DW-1), Diwan Chand (DW-2) and Shiv Ram (DW-3) in his defence.
7. The learned Trial Court held that the demarcation was conducted on o6.04.2006 by Assistant Collector First Grade Kalpa.
of The complaint was made against Chandra Negi for extracting sand, bajri and stone at Powari Chak, which was compounded by rt her after paying the composition fee of ₹5000/-. The stone crusher was found on the government land, and the Assistant Collector, First Grade, Kalpa, recommended that action be taken against Mohinder Singh for the encroachment. This evidence proved that the allegations made by the accused were based on facts. The accused acted in good faith while making the allegations. The complainant failed to prove any malice.
Therefore, the learned Trial Court dismissed the complaint and acquitted the accused of the commission of an offence punishable under Section 500 of the IPC.
8. Being aggrieved by the judgment passed by the learned Trial Court, the accused filed the present appeal asserting that the ::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 6 2025:HHC:40794 learned Trial Court erred in acquitting the accused. The imputations made by the accused were intended to harm the .
complainant's reputation. The accused admitted the making of defamatory statement. The demarcation was conducted on 06.04.2006. It was vague and did not mention anything about the installation of the stone crusher. Therefore, it was prayed that the of present appeal be allowed and the judgment passed by the learned Trial Court be set aside.
9. rt I have heard Mr Udit Shaurya Kaushik, learned vice counsel representing the appellant/complainant and Mr Arvind Sharma, learned counsel for the respondent/accused.
10. Mr Udit Shaurya Kaushik, learned vice counsel representing the appellant/complainant, submitted that the learned Trial Court erred in acquitting the accused. It was admitted by the accused that he had made a statement published in the newspaper 'Divya Himachal'. The allegations were made without any basis and were calculated to harm the reputation of the complainant in the eyes of the general public; therefore, he prayed that the present appeal be allowed and the judgment passed by the learned Trial Court be set aside. He relied upon ::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 7 2025:HHC:40794 judgments of this Court in Jagat Singh Negi vs Surat Singh Negi 2024:HHC468 and Jagat Singh Negi vs. Surat Singh Negi .
2025:HHC19450 in support of his submission.
11. Mr Arvind Sharma, learned counsel for the respondent/accused, submitted that the report of the demarcation proved the encroachment made by the complainant's sister-in-
of law. She had also acknowledged the extraction of minor minerals by paying the composition fee.
rt The accused had made the allegations based on facts in good faith against the complainant.
Learned Trial Court had taken a reasonable view while acquitting the accused, and this Court should not interfere with the reasonable view of the learned Trial Court, even if another view is possible. Therefore, he prayed that the present appeal be dismissed.
12. I have given considerable thought to the submissions made at the bar and have gone through the records carefully.
13 The present appeal has been filed against a judgment of acquittal. It was laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Surendra Singh v. State of Uttarakhand, 2025 SCC OnLine SC 176:
(2025) 5 SCC 433 that the Court can interfere with a judgment of ::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 8 2025:HHC:40794 acquittal if it is patently perverse, is based on misreading/omission to consider the material evidence and .
reached at a conclusion which no reasonable person could have reached. It was observed at page 440:
"11. Recently, in the case of Babu Sahebagouda Rudragoudar v. State of Karnataka 2024 SCC OnLine SC 4035, a Bench of this Court to which one of us was a Member (B.R. Gavai, J.) of had an occasion to consider the legal position with regard to the scope of interference in an appeal against acquittal. It was observed thus:
"38. First of all, we would like to reiterate the rt principles laid down by this Court governing the scope of interference by the High Court in an appeal filed by the State for challenging the acquittal of the accused recorded by the trial court.
39. This Court in Rajesh Prasad v. State of Bihar, (2022) 3 SCC 471: (2022) 2 SCC (Cri) 31encapsulated the legal position covering the field after considering various earlier judgments and held as below: (SCC pp. 482-83, para 29) "29. After referring to a catena of judgments, this Court culled out the following general principles regarding the powers of the appellate court while dealing with an appeal against an order of acquittal in the following words: (Chandrappa v. State of Karnataka, (2007) 4 SCC 415:(2007) 2 SCC (Cri) 325], SCC p. 432, para 42) '42. From the above decisions, in our considered view, the following general principles regarding the powers of the appellate court while dealing with an appeal against an order of acquittal emerge:::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 9
2025:HHC:40794 (1) An appellate court has full power to review, reappreciate and reconsider the evidence upon which the order of acquittal is founded.
.
(2) The Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, puts no limitation, restriction or condition on the exercise of such power and an appellate court, on the evidence before it, may reach its own conclusion, both on questions of fact and law.
of (3) Various expressions, such as "substantial and compelling reasons", "good and sufficient grounds", "very strong rt circumstances", "distorted conclusions", "glaring mistakes", etc., are not intended to curtail the extensive powers of an appellate court in an appeal against acquittal. Such phraseologies are more in the nature of "flourishes of language" to emphasise the reluctance of an appellate court to interfere with an acquittal than to curtail the power of the court to review the evidence and to come to its own conclusion.
(4) An appellate court, however, must bear in mind that in the case of acquittal, there is a double presumption in favour of the accused. Firstly, the presumption of innocence is available to him under the fundamental principle of criminal jurisprudence that every person shall be presumed to be innocent unless he is proved guilty by a competent court of law. Secondly, the accused, having secured his acquittal, the presumption of his innocence is further reinforced, ::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 10 2025:HHC:40794 reaffirmed and strengthened by the trial court.
(5) If two reasonable conclusions are .
possible on the basis of the evidence on record, the appellate court should not disturb the finding of acquittal recorded by the trial court."
40. Further, in H.D. Sundara v. State of Karnataka, (2023) 9 SCC 581: (2023) 3 SCC (Cri) 748], this Court summarised the principles governing the exercise of of appellate jurisdiction while dealing with an appeal against acquittal under Section 378CrPC as follows:
(SCC p. 584, para 8)
8.....8.1. The acquittal of the accused further rt strengthens the presumption of innocence. 8.2. The appellate court, while hearing an appeal against acquittal, is entitled to reappreciate the oral and documentary evidence.
8.3. The appellate court, while deciding an appeal against acquittal, after reappreciating the evidence, is required to consider whether the view taken by the trial court is a possible view which could have been taken on the basis of the evidence on record.
8.4. If the view taken is a possible view, the appellate court cannot overturn the order of acquittal on the ground that another view was also possible; and 8.5. The appellate court can interfere with the order of acquittal only if it comes to a finding that the only conclusion which can be recorded on the basis of the evidence on record was that the guilt of the accused was proved beyond a reasonable doubt and no other conclusion was possible."::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 11
2025:HHC:40794
41. Thus, it is beyond the pale of doubt that the scope of interference by an appellate court for reversing the judgment of acquittal recorded by the trial court in favour of the accused has to be exercised within the .
four corners of the following principles:
41.1. That the judgment of acquittal suffers from patent perversity.
41.2. That the same is based on a misreading/omission to consider material evidence on record; and of 41.3. That no two reasonable views are possible and only the view consistent with the guilt of the accused is possible from the evidence available on rt record."
12.It could thus be seen that it is a settled legal position that the interference with the finding of acquittal recorded by the learned trial judge would be warranted by the High Court only if the judgment of acquittal suffers from patent perversity; that the same is based on a misreading/omission to consider material evidence on record; and that no two reasonable views are possible and only the view consistent with the guilt of the accused is possible from the evidence available on record."
14. The present appeal has to be decided as per the parameters laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court.
15. The accused admitted in his statement recorded under Section 313 of CrPC that he had made the statement attributed to him in the daily newspaper 'Divya Himachal'. The learned Trial Court had rightly held that this part of the statement could be relied upon. It was laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in ::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 12 2025:HHC:40794 State of Maharashtra v. Sukhdev Singh, (1992) 3 SCC 700: 1992 SCC (Cri) 705: 1992 SCC OnLine SC 421 that the Courts can rely upon the .
statement of the accused made under Section 313 of Cr.P.C. It was observed at page 742:
"51. That brings us to the question of whether such a statement recorded under Section 313 of the Code can constitute the sole basis for conviction. Since no oath is of administered to the accused, the statements made by the accused will not be evidence stricto sensu. That is why sub- section (3) says that the accused shall not render himself liable to punishment if he gives false answers. Then comes rt sub-section (4), which reads:
"313. (4) The answers given by the accused may be taken into consideration in such inquiry or trial, and put in evidence for or against him in any other inquiry into, or trial for, any other offence which such answers may tend to show he has committed."
Thus, the answers given by the accused in response to his examination under Section 313 can be taken into consideration in such an inquiry or trial. This much is clear on a plain reading of the above sub-section. Therefore, though not strictly evidence, sub-section (4) permits that it may be taken into consideration in the said inquiry or trial. See State of Maharashtra v. R.B. Chowdhari [(1967) 3 SCR 708:
AIR 1968 SC 110: 1968 Cri LJ 95]. This Court, in the case of Hate Singh Bhagat Singh v. State of M.B. [1951 SCC 1060: 1953 Cri LJ 1933: AIR 1953 SC 468] held that an answer given by an accused under Section 313 examination can be used for proving his guilt as much as the evidence given by a prosecution witness. In Narain Singh v. State of Punjab [(1963) 3 SCR 678: (1964) 1 Cri LJ 730], this Court held that if the accused confesses to the commission of the offence with which he is charged, the Court may, relying upon that confession, proceed to convict him. To state the exact ::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 13 2025:HHC:40794 language in which the three-Judge bench answered the question, it would be advantageous to reproduce the relevant observations at pages 684-685:
"Under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure .
by the first sub-section, insofar as it is material, the Court may at any stage of the enquiry or trial and after the witnesses for the prosecution have been examined and before the accused is called upon for his defence shall put questions to the accused person for the purpose of enabling him to explain any circumstance appearing in the evidence against him. Examination of under Section 342 is primarily to be directed to those matters on which evidence has been led for the prosecution to ascertain from the accused his version or explanation, if any, of the incident which forms the rt subject-matter of the charge and his defence. By sub- section (3), the answers given by the accused may 'be taken into consideration' at the enquiry or the trial. If the accused person in his examination under Section 342 confesses to the commission of the offence charged against him the court may, relying upon that confession, proceed to convict him, but if he does not confess and in explaining circumstance appearing in the evidence against him sets up his own version and seeks to explain his conduct pleading that he has committed no offence, the statement of the accused can only be taken into consideration in its entirety." (emphasis supplied) Sub-section (1) of Section 313 corresponds to sub-section (1) of Section 342 of the old Code, except that it now stands bifurcated in two parts with the proviso added thereto clarifying that in summons cases where the presence of the accused is dispensed with, his examination under clause (b) may also be dispensed with. Sub-section (2) of Section 313 reproduces the old sub-section (4), asd the present sub-
section (3) corresponds to the old sub-section (2) except for the change necessitated on account of the abolition of the jury system. The present sub-section (4) with which we are concerned is a verbatim reproduction of the old sub-
::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 142025:HHC:40794 section (3). Therefore, the aforestated observations apply with equal force."
16. This question was again considered by the Hon'ble .
Supreme Court in Mohan Singh v. Prem Singh, (2002) 10 SCC 236:
2003 SCC (Cri) 1514: 2002 SCC OnLine SC 933, and it was held that the statement made by the accused under Section 313 of Cr.P.C.
can be used to lend credence to the evidence led by the of prosecution, but a part of such statement cannot form the sole basis for conviction. It was observed at page 244: -
rt
27. The statement made in defence by the accused under Section 313 CrPC can certainly be taken aid of to lend credence to the evidence led by the prosecution, but only a part of such statement under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure cannot be made the sole basis of his conviction. The law on the subject is almost settled that the statement under Section 313 CrPC of the accused can either be relied on in whole or in part. It may also be possible to rely on the inculpatory part of his statement if the exculpatory part is found to be false on the basis of the evidence led by the prosecution. See Nishi Kant Jha v. State of Bihar [(1969) 1 SCC 347: AIR 1969 SC 422]: (SCC pp. 357- 58, para 23) "23. In this case, the exculpatory part of the statement in Exhibit 6 is not only inherently improbable but is contradicted by the other evidence.
According to this statement, the injury that the appellant received was caused by the appellant's attempt to catch hold of the hand of Lal Mohan Sharma to prevent the attack on the victim. This was contradicted by the statement of the accused himself under Section 342 CrPC to the effect that he had received the injury in a scuffle with a herdsman. The ::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 15 2025:HHC:40794 injury found on his body when he was examined by the doctor on 13-10-1961, negatives of both these versions. Neither of these versions accounts for the profuse bleeding which led to his washing his clothes .
and having a bath in River Patro, the amount of bleeding and the washing of the bloodstains being so considerable as to attract the attention of Ram Kishore Pandey, PW 17 and asking him about the cause thereof. The bleeding was not a simple one as his clothes all got stained with blood, as also his books, his exercise book and his belt and his shoes.
of More than that, the knife which was discovered on his person was found to have been stained with blood according to the report of the Chemical Examiner. According to the post-mortem report, this knife could rt have been the cause of the injuries on the victim. In circumstances like these, there being enough evidence to reject the exculpatory part of the statement of the appellant in Exhibit 6, the High Court had acted rightly in accepting the inculpatory part and piercing the same with the other evidence to come to the conclusion that the appellant was the person responsible for the crime." (emphasis supplied) 17 It was laid down in Ramnaresh v. State of Chhattisgarh, (2012) 4 SCC 257: (2012) 2 SCC (Cri) 382: 2012 SCC OnLine SC 213, that the statement of the accused under Section 313 of Cr.P.C., insofar it supports the case of the prosecution, can be used against him for rendering a conviction. It was observed at page 275: -
"52. It is a settled principle of law that the obligation to put material evidence to the accused under Section 313 CrPC is upon the court. One of the main objects of recording a statement under this provision of the CrPC is to give an opportunity to the accused to explain the circumstances ::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 16 2025:HHC:40794 appearing against him as well as to put forward his defence, if the accused so desires. But once he does not avail this opportunity, then consequences in law must follow. Where the accused takes benefit of this opportunity, .
then his statement made under Section 313 CrPC, insofar as it supports the case of the prosecution, can be used against him for rendering a conviction. Even under the latter, he faces the consequences in law."
18. This position was reiterated in Ashok Debbarma v. State of Tripura, (2014) 4 SCC 747: (2014) 2 SCC (Cri) 417: 2014 SCC OnLine of SC 199, and it was held that the statement of the accused recorded under Section 313 of Cr.P.C. can be used to lend corroboration to rt the statements of prosecution witnesses. It was held at page 761:-
24. We are of the view that, under Section 313 statement, if the accused admits that, from the evidence of various witnesses, four persons sustained severe bullet injuries by the firing by the accused and his associates, that admission of guilt in Section 313 statement cannot be brushed aside. This Court in State of Maharashtra v.
Sukhdev Singh [(1992) 3 SCC 700: 1992 SCC (Cri) 705] held that since no oath is administered to the accused, the statement made by the accused under Section 313 CrPC will not be evidence stricto sensu and the accused, of course, shall not render himself liable to punishment merely on the basis of answers given while he was being examined under Section 313 CrPC. But, sub-section (4) says that the answers given by the accused in response to his examination under Section 313 CrPC can be taken into consideration in such an inquiry or trial. This Court in Hate Singh Bhagat Singh [Hate Singh Bhagat Singh v. State of Madhya Bharat, 1951 SCC 1060: AIR 1953 SC 468: 1953 Cri LJ 1933] held that the answers given by the accused under Section 313 examination can be used for proving his guilt ::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 17 2025:HHC:40794 as much as the evidence given by the prosecution witness. In Narain Singh v. State of Punjab [(1964) 1 Cri LJ 730: (1963) 3 SCR 678], this Court held that when the accused confesses to the commission of the offence with which he is charged, .
the court may rely upon the confession and proceed to convict him.
25. This Court in Mohan Singh v. Prem Singh [(2002) 10 SCC 236: 2003 SCC (Cri) 1514] held that: (SCC p. 244, para 27) "27. The statement made in defence by the accused under Section 313 CrPC can certainly be taken aid of to lend credence to the evidence led by of the prosecution, but only a part of such statement under Section 313 CrPC cannot be made the sole basis of his conviction."
In this connection, reference may also be made to the rt judgments of this Court in Devender Kumar Singla v. Baldev Krishan Singla [(2005) 9 SCC 15: 2005 SCC (Cri) 1185] and Bishnu Prasad Sinha v. State of Assam [(2007) 11 SCC 467:
(2008) 1 SCC (Cri) 766]. The abovementioned decisions would indicate that the statement of the accused under Section 313 CrPC for the admission of his guilt or confession as such cannot be made the sole basis for finding the accused guilty, the reason being he is not making the statement on oath, but all the same the confession or admission of guilt can be taken as a piece of evidence since the same lends credence to the evidence led by the prosecution.
26. We may, however, indicate that the answers given by the accused while examining him under Section 313, fully corroborate the evidence of PW 10 and PW 13 and hence the offences levelled against the appellant stand proved and the trial court and the High Court have rightly found him guilty for the offences under Sections 326, 436 and 302 read with Section 34 IPC."
19. Therefore, the statements of the complainant's witnesses regarding making of statements by the accused and the ::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 18 2025:HHC:40794 contents of the news items (Ext.CW-1/A) have to be accepted as correct.
.
20. The news item (Ext.CW-1/A), freely translated into English, reads as under:
"MLA is indulging in the services of his kith and Kin. MLA of Kinnaur is involved in corruption along with eight ministers. A crusher was installed on the government land of on the Satluj Basin to benefit the MLA's brother, and illicit sand and grit stone are being sold. ... This fact was disclosed by Tejwant Negi in a press conference. He stated that a crusher was installed near Powari on the government land.
rt The people met the Deputy Commissioner, but no action was taken due to the pressure from the higher-ups, whereas the administration acknowledged that the land on which the crusher was installed was private. Tejwant Negi further disclosed that the mining department was harassing the people who were removing the sand and grit stone. Penalty was being realised from the vehicle carrying the sand. xxxxxxxx. He also said that the department was not taking action on the MLA's kith because of his influence....."
21 The contents of this news item show that an allegation of corruption was made against the complainant. It was laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in State of Haryana vs Bhajan Lal, 1992 Supp. (1) SCC 335, that if any imputations of corruption are made against a person holding a high office, such a person has a right to approach the Court under Section 500 of IPC besides suing for damages. It was observed:-
::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 192025:HHC:40794 "104. It may be true, as repeatedly pointed out by Mr Parasaran, that in a given situation, false and vexatious charges of corruption and venality may be maliciously attributed against any person holding a high office and .
enjoying a respectable status thereby sullying his character, injuring his reputation and exposing him to social ridicule to spite him on account of some personal rancour, predilections and past prejudices of the complainant. In such a piquant situation, the question is what would be the remedy that would redress the grievance of the verily affected party? The answer would of be that the person who dishonestly makes such false allegations is liable to be proceeded against under the relevant provisions of the Penal Code, 1860 -- namely under Section 182, 211 or 500 besides becoming liable to be sued for rt damages." (Emphasis supplied)
22. It was held in Prabhu Chawla vs. State of U.P. 2020.AHC:9165 that the imputation of fraud, dishonesty and corruption would amount to defamation. It was observed:
"15. In a matter, complaining of an offence of defamation, the alleged statement has to be appreciated in a manner which will be read, understood and viewed by a right- thinking and reasonable-minded person of ordinary prudence. The statement has to be read and understood in its entirety and not selectively, piecemeal, or by adding something which is not there. Natural and ordinary meaning of words would be supplied, and what meaning and message it would convey to a man of ordinary prudence is a crucial aspect. Imputation of fraud, dishonesty and corruption in any manner directly attributed to the complainant, no doubt, would amount to defamation, but every statement which is not liked by the complainant himself cannot be said to be a defamatory statement. (Emphasis supplied) ::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 20 2025:HHC:40794
23. The accused claimed that he had stated the truth based on the facts, and it was for him to establish the truthfulness of .
these allegations.
24. Sar Chander Negi (DW-1) stated that the crusher was installed in the name of Chandra Negi on 23.06.2005. Mining Lease was executed on 27.09.2005 regarding Khasra Nos 394, 389 of and 390. A challan (Ext. DX) was issued by the department on 07.04.2006, which was compounded, and Chandra Negi deposited rt the composition fee. Demarcation was conducted on 06.04.2006 (Ext.DX1) and 30.04.2008 (Ext. DX2). The objections were preferred by the residents regarding the installation of the crusher. They were forwarded by the Deputy Commissioner vide letter dated 22.04.2006. He could not say anything about the action taken by the department.
25. The statement of this witness proved that the complainant's sister-in-law had paid the compounding fee for the illegal extraction of sand and gravel. Thus, the allegation regarding the illegal extraction of sand and gravel has been proved to be true.
::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 212025:HHC:40794
26. The report of demarcation dated 30.04.2008 mentions that the stone crusher was not installed on the Khasra Nos. 389, .
390 and 394 but was installed on Khasra No. 310, which adjoined Khasra No. 393. Khasra No. 393 was government land. Thus, the report establishes the allegations made by the accused that the crusher was installed on the government land.
of
27. Sar Chander Negi (DW-1) stated that a complaint was made by the local villagers, which was forwarded to the rt department by the Deputy Commissioner, Kinnuar, vide letter dated 22.04.2006. He could not say what action was taken by the department. He made the statement on 07.09.2011. More than 5 years had lapsed since the date of forwarding of the complaint by the Deputy Commissioner. His inability to state the action taken by the department shows that the department had not taken any action despite the representation of the public. Thus, the allegation that no action was being taken by the department was also correct.
28. Thus, the statement of Sar Chander Negi (DW-1) shows that the allegations made by the accused were true. It is undisputed that the accused had contested the election against ::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 22 2025:HHC:40794 the complainant as a candidate of the rival political party, and he has an interest in exposing the misdeeds of the public .
functionary, being the public representative. Therefore, the statement made by him was for the benefit of the public to apprise them of the misdeeds of the kith and kin of the public servant.
29. It was submitted that there is no proof of the fact that of the complainant had pressurised the official of the department not to take any action against his relative. This submission will rt not help the complainant. The accused was not required to prove his case beyond a reasonable doubt, but on the balance of probabilities. Once he had shown that the action was not taken against the crusher installed by the complainant's sister in law, the inference drawn by him cannot be faulted that action was not taken at the instance of the complainant. No other reason was elicited in the cross-examination for the inaction in the matter.
Thus, the fact that there is no direct evidence of the influence of the complainant will not make any difference to the present case.
30. It was submitted that there was no foundation for calling the petitioner corrupt, and this allegation was false. This submission cannot be accepted. The Cambridge dictionary defines ::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 23 2025:HHC:40794 the term 'corrupt' as dishonest and willing to use position or power to one's advantage, especially for money. Merriam-Webster .
dictionary defines the term 'corrupt' as characterised by improper conduct. Collins dictionary defines the term "corrupt" as characterised by improper conduct. Oxford Learners' Dictionary defines the term "corrupt" as being willing to use power for of dishonest or illegal things for money or to get an advantage.
Britannica dictionary defines the term "corrupt" as doing things rt that are dishonest or illegal to make money or gain.
31. In the present case, the statement of Sar Chander Negi (DW-1) shows that the complainant's relative had installed a crusher on the government land. She had extracted minor minerals without permission and paid a composition fee for doing so, and in this manner acknowledged her fault. The complaints were made by the local persons, which were forwarded to the Mining department, but no action was taken. Thus, these allegations were sufficient to impute corruption to the complainant.
32. Therefore, the learned Trial Court had taken a reasonable view, which could have been taken based on the ::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS 24 2025:HHC:40794 material placed before it, and this Court will not interfere with the reasonable view of the learned Trial Court even if another view is .
possible.
33. In view of the above, the present appeal fails, and it is dismissed.
34. The present petition stands disposed of, so also the of pending miscellaneous application(s), if any.
35. A copy of the judgment, along with a record of the rt learned Trial Court, be sent back forthwith.
(Rakesh Kainthla) Judge __December, 2025.
(Ravinder) ::: Downloaded on - 05/12/2025 23:47:08 :::CIS