India
Indian government takes first step toward decriminalizing defamationPosted Feb 2 2011
Following the presentation of IPI’s India Chapter Award for Excellence on Jan. 12, Minister M. Veerappa Moily is acknowledging the need for a bill to pass that would protect journalists from defamation. The award was given to the weekly newspaper Tehelka for coverage of custodial killings in Manipur that led to government reaction.
During his welcome address, editor of The Hindu, N. Ravi, entreated the Law Minister to take action. “Defamation should be treated as a civil wrong. Criminal defamation is against the freedom of expression. Even neighboring countries like Sri Lanka have abolished it,” Ravi said, according to an article in The Hindu.
According to the International Press Institute, India’s media and its advocates have largely been the voice for laws surrounding journalists and defamation. Though they have been speaking out against the criminality of defamation, the Indian Penal Code still charges a guilty person with a fine and a maximum of two years in jail.
In 2002, Sri Lanka became the only country in Asia to decriminalize defamation and Minister Moily was positive in his response to Ravi’s request to follow suit in India. “We are working on a proposal to convert it into a civil wrong on the limited aspect where it applies to journalists,” Moily said, according to IPI’s report.