The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday questioned Ravi Hegde, the editor-in-chief of Kannada news outlet Kannada Prabha on whether newspaper reports it had published on certain allegations against Energy Minister KJ George were properly verified before publication [Sri Ravi Hegde v. Kelachandra Joseph George].
Justice MI Arun asked the allegations reported based on a press conference were verified, and whether George’s response was sought, or if a disclaimer had been published.
"Was the accused person’s version taken before publishing the information? Was a disclaimer issued stating no responsibility for the allegations?” the judge orally asked Advocate S Sudharshan, who represented Hegde.
"We only reported what was said at the press conference. Other media outlets carried the same, yet only we have been booked for defamation. The newspaper has not expressed any independent opinion," Sudharshan replied.
The Court also questioned the effect such reports may have on the common man.
"The last article appears to be a bit defamatory. Do you know what the average reader feels when he sees the headline of the article/report? The press (is) having lot of freedom without verifications," the judge said.
Sudarshan replied that the report also discloses who has made these allegations.
The Court was hearing a petition by the Kannada Prabha editorial head to quash a defamation suit filed by George against the media outlet over a report which the Minister claims carried baseless and malicious allegations against him.
The defamation suit was also filed against Karnataka Rashtra Samithi president Ravikrishna Reddy and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader NR Ramesh on allegations that they made false allegations against George.
In 2019, Reddy and Ramesh reportedly filed a complaint before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleging that George had amassed illegal properties outside India.
They were sued the same year by George for defamation, on claims that they made reckless and malicious allegations against him. Similarly, Kannada Prabha was also sued for defamation, for reporting the allegedly defamatory allegations.
In 2021, the media outlet filed a plea to quash this defamation case.
During yesterday's hearing of the matter, KJ George's counsel submitted that even if an apology is made during an interview, it would not be sufficient to rectify misinformation published in public.
He added that issuing such an apology might, in fact, cause greater harm than the original publication.
The matter will be heard next on August 23.