Law Commission of India submits its Report on Law of Criminal Defamation

New Delhi [India], February 2 : The Law Commission of India, in its report to the Law Ministry recommended the retention of criminal defamation in the scheme of criminal laws of the country.
"Reputation is something that can't be seen and can only be earned. It's an asset which is built in a lifetime and destroyed in seconds. The whole jurisprudence around the law on criminal defamation has the essence of protecting one's reputation and its facet," said LCI in its report recommending retention of criminal defamation in the penal code
The Law Commission of India also goes on to say that The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 has added a provision of community service as an additional punishment.
"The law acknowledges that harm to reputation is not only an attack on an individual, rather an imputation on the whole society, for which the perpetrator may be punished to serve the community as an act of remorse. Through the introduction of this punishment, Indian law has shown the most balanced approach in protecting one's reputation and speech too," the report said
The 22nd Law Commission of India has submitted its Report titled "The Law of Criminal Defamation" to the Government of India.
The Law Commission received a reference from the Ministry of Law and Justice, on 4th August, 2017, requesting the Commission to examine various issues relating to the Defamation laws and make recommendations thereon.
In pursuance of the reference, the 22nd Law Commission undertook an extensive study, analysing the history of the law of defamation, its relationship vis-a-vis the right to freedom of speech and expression, and the various judgments rendered by the Courts across the country. The Commission, inter alia, also studied the relationship between right to reputation and the right to freedom of speech and expression, and how the two need to be balanced. Further, the Commission looked into the treatment of criminal defamation across various jurisdictions.
The Supreme Court had also the occasion to examine the constitutionality of criminal defamation in Subramanian Swamy v. Union of India. Having examined the issue at length, the Hon'ble Supreme Court dismissed the challenge to Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and held it to be constitutionally valid on account of it being a reasonable restriction under Article 19(2) to the freedom of speech and expression enshrined in Article 19(1)(a)
Having considered the above in-depth, the Commission recommends that criminal defamation be retained within the scheme of criminal laws in the country. In this regard, it is important to keep in mind that right to reputation flows from Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and being a facet of right to life and personal liberty, needs to be adequately protected against defamatory speech and imputations.