The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the criminal defamation proceedings against India Today Group Editor-in-Chief Aroon Purie.
A bench comprising Chief Justice N. V. Ramana, Justices Surya Kant and Aniruddha Bose issued notice on a plea filed by Purie, challenging the Delhi High Court order refusing to quash the defamation case against him, and also issued an interim order of stay. “Notice and interim stay,” said the bench.
The bench asked Senior Advocate Amit Desai, representing Purie, why he can’t apply for discharge before the criminal court. Desai submitted that the Supreme Court has held in the KM Mathew case that there is no presumption against a Chief Editor and added that the complainant himself has said that he is not aware of the role of a chief editor and that there was no particular allegation against Purie.
The Delhi High Court had refused to quash a criminal defamation complaint and summoning order against Purie in connection with an article published in India Today magazine in 2007. The news article, ‘Mission Misconduct’, had reported on allegations against the then Indian deputy consul general in Edinburgh, O.P. Bhola.