Chief minister J. Jayalalithaa on Wednesday filed a defamation complaint against the publisher and printer and editor of Times of India and DMK treasurer and MLA M.K. Stalin.
City public prosecutor M.L. Jagan filed the complaint before the principal sessions court on behalf of the CM, which sought punishment for the publisher, printer and editor of Times of India for offences under sections 500 and 501 of the IPC and Mr Stalin under section 500 of the IPC.
The English daily, in its edition dated August 2, had published the statement of Mr Stalin with a heading ‘DMK cadres on the streets over cholera’.
The statement spoken by Mr Stalin was, “I cannot understand how a chief minister can have a vacation when the whole city is suffering”. The statement that she was on a vacation was fallacious and defamatory, Jagan said.
The CM was only staying in Kodanad for a certain period, but, however, all official and constitutional duties were continuously discharged by the chief minister irrespective of the place of stay and more particularly, the chief minister was functioning and discharging duties even on Sundays which would clearly indicate that the chief minister was performing the constitutional functions and running the government effectively and efficiently, Jagan said.
He said the chief minister, during her stay at Kodanad, had looked into and cleared innumerable official files and ensured that all pending tasks were completed at the earliest which would reveal that the allegation of the accused in the publication was totally unjustifiable, unreasonable and unsustainable.
Hence, without any verification, enquiry, the publication of such a defamatory and bald statements made by the accused was defamatory and derogatory per se.
The entire news item was published and circulated with an intention to harm the reputation of the chief minister, Mr Jagan added.