The court said the right to freedom of speech and expression “is not an unfettered right in the garb of which defamatory statements can be made to tarnish the reputation of a person”.
A single judge bench of Justice Krishna Rao passed the interim order while hearing a defamation suit filed by Governor Bose against the Chief Minister, two newly elected TMC MLAs — Sayantika Banerjee and Reyat Hossain Sarkar — and party leader Kunal Ghosh.
The Governor approached the court after the Chief Minister’s remarks at a meeting at Nabanna, the state secretariat, in connection with the recent tension between the Raj Bhavan and the Assembly over refusal of the two newly elected TMC MLAs to take oath in Raj Bhavan.
This came close to two months after Kolkata Police launched an enquiry on May 2 into sexual harassment allegations made by a female staff of Raj Bhavan against Governor Bose. The Governor had hit back, saying he would not be “cowed down by engineered narratives”.
The High Court, which first heard Bose’s plea on July 3, said in its order on Tuesday, “In the present case, admittedly the plaintiff is a Constitutional Authority. The allegation made against the plaintiff is pending before the appropriate court… Considering the above circumstances, this court finds that the plaintiff has made out a prima facie case and the balance of convenience is in favour of the plaintiff…”
It said the “plaintiff will further suffer irreparable loss and injury of his reputation” if an interim order is not granted at this stage.
“Under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India afford the right of freedom of speech and expression to all persons. However, the same is subject to restrictions under Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India, which includes defamation,” the court said. “Therefore, the right to freedom of speech and expression is not an unfettered right in the garb of which defamatory statements can be made to tarnish the reputation of a person.”
“The fundamental rights of freedom of speech has to be balanced with the right of reputation of an individual, which has been held to be basic element of the right to life as provided under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.”
“In view of the above, the defendants are restrained from making any defamatory or incorrect statement against the plaintiff by way of publication and on social platforms till 14th August, 2024,” Justice Krishna Rao said in his order.
“Let affidavit in opposition be filed within two weeks, reply within one week thereafter. List the matter on 14th August, 2024,” the order said.
In a video message later in the evening, Governor Bose in a video message said, “Truth will thrive. I wish and pray God throws light on the path of Mamata Banerjee. I dedicate myself to the service of the people of Bengal.”
Advocate Sanjay Basu, representing the Chief Minister, said, “The Hon’ble court has not arrived at any finding or conclusion that the statements challenged in the suit were defamatory or incorrect.”
“…Therefore, as the statements made by the Chief Minister have not been found to be defamatory, we believe that the order of general restraint of speech is unfounded. Her utterances to the extent they represent rejection of injustice and gender asymmetry, cannot be restrained and, to that degree and in that sense, the order of the Hon’ble Court will be challenged.”