Allahabad High Court Stays Defamation Proceedings Against Hindustan Editor-in-Chief

The Allahabad High Court has stayed criminal defamation proceedings initiated against Hindustan Editor-in-Chief Shashi Shekhar over a newspaper report relating to the arrest of a railway official in an alleged illegal Sheesham tree-cutting case in Uttar Pradesh. Justice Brij Raj Singh passed the interim order while hearing a petition filed under Section 482 CrPC seeking quashing of the complaint case and the summoning order issued by a Gonda magistrate court.

The complaint was filed by Dileep Kumar Verma, who was serving as Station Superintendent at Swami Narayan Chapiya Railway Station under the North Eastern Railway. An FIR had earlier been registered against him under Section 3 of the Railway Property (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1966, alleging illegal cutting of Sheesham trees from railway premises. Verma was arrested in the case and later released on bail.

Counsel for Shekhar argued that the newspaper merely reported facts already forming part of the criminal case and arrest record. It was further submitted that no specific defamatory statement or personal role had been attributed to the Editor-in-Chief.

Observing that the matter required consideration, the High Court issued notice to the complainant and stayed further proceedings before the Gonda court until the next hearing.