SC sets aside Delhi HC's order in defamation case against 'The Wire' by ex-JNU proffesor

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday set aside the Delhi High Court order quashing the summons issued against news portal 'The Wire' Editor Siddharth Bhatia and Deputy Editor Ajoy Ashirwad in a criminal defamation case filed against them by former JNU Professor Amrita Singh.

A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Arvind Kumar said the High Court should not have made any observation on merit and held that no defamation was made out as it was for the trial court to decide the matter.

The court remanded the case back to the magistrate court for deciding it in accordance with law.

Singh filed the defamation case against Bhatia and Ashirwad, for publishing a news item alleging that a team of professors led by her has submitted a dossier to JNU administration alleging falsely that JNU girls in hostel indulged in sex racket.

Initially, the magistrate court in Delhi had issued summons to them, but then both the accused moved the Delhi HC, which stayed the summoning order in 2017.

Subsequently, Prof Singh moved the apex court for setting aside the Delhi HC order.

'The Wire' had published the said news item on April, 2016, entitled “Dossier Calls JNU ‘Den of Organised Sex Racket” which was also subsequently carried by other newspapers.