Definition
Injury to reputation.
Publication of false statement harming reputation.
Statutory Definition
BNS 2023.
Etymology & Origin
From Latin 'diffamare' (to spread evil report, to defame), from 'dis-' (apart, widely) + 'fama' (report, rumour, reputation). The noun 'defamation' thus denotes the act of 'spreading a report' that harms another's good name. The Latin phrase 'famosus libellus' (a notorious little book) gave rise to the term 'libel'. Defamation entered Indian law through both the common-law tort and the statutory criminal offence under the IPC, now preserved in the BNS.
Full Legal Analysis
Defamation: The Wrongful Injury to Reputation
Reputation is among the most valuable of a person's possessions — harder to build than to destroy, and once tarnished, slow to restore. Defamation is the legal wrong committed when a false statement is published about another that tends to lower that person in the estimation of right-thinking members of society, or to expose them to hatred, ridicule, or contempt. In India, defamation is uniquely both a civil tort (giving rise to an action for damages) and a criminal offence (punishable with imprisonment) — a dual character that reflects the law's regard for the sanctity of reputation.
Libel and Slander
Defamation takes two forms. Libel is defamation in a permanent or visible form — written words, printed matter, pictures, statues, films. Slander is defamation in a transient or invisible form — spoken words, gestures. In English common law, libel is actionable per se (without proof of special damage) and may also be criminal; slander generally requires proof of special damage unless it falls within certain exceptional categories. Under Indian criminal law, however, the distinction is less significant: the IPC and now the BNS treat both libel and slander as criminal defamation, making spoken defamatory statements equally punishable.
Defences to Defamation
The law recognises several defences that balance the protection of reputation against the freedom of expression. (a) Justification (truth): a statement that is substantially true is not defamatory, for the law will not protect a reputation built on falsehood. (b) Fair comment: an honest expression of opinion on a matter of public interest, based on true facts, is protected. (c) Privilege: statements made in certain contexts — parliamentary proceedings, judicial proceedings, fair and accurate reports — are absolutely protected; statements made on other occasions where there is a duty to speak (qualified privilege) are protected absent malice. The BNS provisions on criminal defamation preserve these common-law defences, subject to the statutory framework.
“A good name is the immediate jewel of a man's soul, and the law guards it as it guards the body. But reputation lives by communication, and speech must remain free; the law of defamation walks the narrow line between the two, protecting the one without strangling the other.”
This Term in Indian Statutes
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, 2023
"Whoever, by words either spoken or intended to be read, or by signs or by visible representations, makes or publishes any imputation concerning any person intending to harm, or knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm, the reputation of such person, is said to defame that person."
Criminal defamation — the statutory offence of injuring reputation by published imputation, successor to IPC Section 499
Indian Penal Code, 1860, 1860
"Whoever, by words either spoken or intended to be read, or by signs or by visible representations, makes or publishes any imputation concerning any person intending to harm, or knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm, the reputation of such person, is said to defame that person."
Original criminal defamation provision — renumbered to BNS Section 356 without substantive change
