A website, speechbill.in, was launched on Tuesday to engage comments from the public on the bill. Satpathy, editor of Odisha newspaper Dharitri, has several defamation lawsuits against him, including one quashed by the Orissa HC in 2010.
BJD MP Tathagata Satpathy has initiated a campaign to drum up support for the Right to Protection of Speech and Reputation Bill, a private member's bill he intends to introduce to the Parliament soon.
A website, speechbill.in, was launched on Tuesday to engage comments from the public on the bill. Satpathy, editor of Odisha newspaper Dharitri, has several defamation lawsuits against him, including one quashed by the Orissa HC in 2010.
Under the Indian Penal Code, section 499 and 500 criminalises defamation with imprisonment of up to two years. Then again, Article 19 (1) of the Constitution grants freedom of speech and expression to every citizen. The Supreme Court has time and again has observed the constitutional validity of Sections 499 and 500. Yet, when early this year, in March, the SC ruled in favour of the constitutional validity of these sections, the decision invited outrage.
The website lays out ten principles on which the bill has been sculpted. One of the principles say that unless the said defamation causes "serious harm", a case should not be encouraged. It also says that only the person causing the said defamation must be liable, and not intermediaries or platforms (like Facebook and Twitter) and other people not connected to it. It also seeks to limit excessive damage costs, usually running in multiple crores.
Before a lawsuit is filed, the principles also encourage pre-litigation measures like notices to encourage settlement. Another guiding principle is that government servants should not use defamation as a tool of censorship unless the said defamation is about the officer's personal life. To limit the abuse of the power of the court, the campaign also suggests the limit the territorial jurisdiction of a court so that multiple cases are not filed under a single statement.
The bill proposes to have a prospective effect. Consultations and public comments will be open for another ten days, after which the bill will be drafted.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Tathagat Satpathy")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}