Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 12:12pm on 22 Sep 2025,Monday India
The Supreme Court on Monday said it may be time to decriminalise defamation in India. Justice MM Sundresh made the remark while hearing a plea against a criminal defamation case filed by a JNU professor against The Wire. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for The Wire, agreed with the court’s view. Defamation is still a criminal offence under Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which replaced Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code. In 2016, the Supreme Court had upheld criminal defamation, saying reputation was part of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. (PC: India Today)
