A Sringeri court has convicted two journalists of a daily of defamation and sentenced them to a penalty of ₹20,000 each. Du. Gu. Lakshman, editor, and S. Shantaram, resident editor, were the convicted. Kalkuli Vittal Hegde, a resident of Sringeri, had filed a defamation case objecting to a report published in Hosadigantha on July 3, 2007.
The report published with a photograph referred to Hegde as a Naxal supporter. In the photo were Kadidal Shamanna, B.G. Krishnamurthy and Sirimane Nagaraj. In his petition, Mr. Hegde said the photo carried by the newspaper was taken on November 3, 1998, when an awareness programme was held at Nellibeedu, one of the villages affected after Kudremukh National Park was notified. A few people’s representatives also attended the meeting then. Hegde was president of Kudremukh Rashtriya Udyanavana Virodhi Okkuta. An old photo was published to tarnish his reputation, said Mr. Hegde, adding that there was no Naxal movement in Chikkamagaluru then.
The Judicial Magistrate First Class Court of Sringeri pronounced the judgement on January 25 under the Sections 500, 501 and 502 of the Indian Penal Code, which deal with publishing defamatory material.
If the convicted fail to pay the penalty, this would attract imprisonment for three months under Section 500 and two months each under Sections 501 and 502, the judgement said.
Mr. Hegde informed the media about the judgement after he got a copy of the same on Tuesday.