UK court drops case against PIO
British journalist of Indian origin Hardeep Singh, who was facing a libel case filed by an Indian holy man, won a major victory when the high court in London threw out the case.
The court ruled that the libel case involved an argument of religious doctrine rather than establishment of fact and could not be tried in English courts.
Baba Jeet Singh Ji Maharaj, who heads Nirmal Kutia Johlan in Punjab, had filed libel the case against Mr Singh over his article, which had been published in 2007 by the Sikh Times, a local newspaper, for referring to the Baba as “an accused cult leader.” The Sikh Times had immediately apologised to the Baba and withdrawn the article.
The libel case was dismissed by Justice Sir David Eady at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on the first day of the hearing on Monday.
This was the first instance of an Indian holy man filing a libel case against a British journalist in the UK. Mr Singh’s victory comes just a month after Indian-origin author Simon Singh won his libel case against the British Chiropractic Association over a newspaper article.
“It’s a reminder that radical reforms need to take place, to prevent wealthy foreign nationals abusing Britain’s libel laws,” Mr Singh, a freelance journalist, told this newspaper when asked what his victory meant for the longstanding campaign for improvement in libel laws in the UK.
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Stalin libel case gets rejected
Moscow : A Russian court on Monday threw out a libel case brought by Stalin’s grandson against a radio station over its claim that the dictator sanctioned the execution of children as young as 12 during the 1930s purges. The case comes amid emotional debate over Stalin’s legacy as Russia celebrates the 65th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany.
“The suit has been rejected,” the judge at Moscow’s Presnensky district court said. Representatives of liberal radio station Ekho Moskvy had produced material from Russia’s historical archives to back up the claim made on air that Stalin issued orders sanctioning the shooting of children deemed “enemies of the people”. A Moscow judge then rejected his claim that the newspaper Novaya Gazeta had smeared Stalin in an article that said he personally ordered the deaths of Soviet citizens. —Reuters
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