Supreme Court hints at need to decriminalize defamation while hearing case against The Wire
The Supreme Court on Monday observed that the time has come to decriminalize defamation, a remark made during a hearing in the case against online news portal The Wire.
A Bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma was considering a petition filed by the Foundation for Independent Journalism (which runs The Wire) challenging summons issued by a Delhi trial court. The case relates to a defamation complaint filed by JNU professor Amita Singh.
Justice Sundresh remarked, “I think time has come to decriminalize all this.” Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for The Wire, agreed with the Court’s view.
Defamation continues to be treated as a criminal offence under Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which replaced Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). India remains one of the few democracies where criminal defamation exists; most countries only allow civil remedies.
In 2016, the Supreme Court had upheld the constitutional validity of Section 499 IPC when it was challenged by leaders including Subramanian Swamy, Rahul Gandhi, and Arvind Kejriwal.
The present case traces back to a 2016 article by The Wire, which reported that Singh led a group of JNU teachers who prepared a 200-page dossier labelling the university a “den of organised sex racket.” The dossier, titled “Jawaharlal Nehru University: The Den of Secessionism and Terrorism,” allegedly accused some teachers of encouraging separatist movements and promoting a decadent culture.
Following this report, Singh filed a criminal defamation complaint against The Wire and its journalist. In 2017, a magistrate issued summons, but the Supreme Court later set them aside and directed a fresh review of the article. In January 2025, the magistrate again issued summons against The Wire and its political affairs editor Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta, which the Delhi High Court upheld in May this year.
During Monday’s hearing, the Supreme Court also questioned the prolonged nature of the case, asking, “How long will you go on dragging this?”
Sibal pointed out that a similar matter concerning Rahul Gandhi’s defamation case is also under consideration. The Court has now issued notice to Amita Singh in this matter.
