‘Devils and Terrorists’: Calcutta High Court ends 22-year defamation battle over TV show’s attack on CESC

Justice Krishna Rao found that the director of the programme, being a senior citizen, has withdrawn from active journalism. (Image enhanced using AI)

The high court noted that the production house, director and anchor of the said programme have finally tendered an unconditional apology and directed payment of token damages and costs to the company. 

‘Tughlaqui company indulged in goondami’

• The production company was engaged in telecasting a daily programme, “Khoj Khabar,” on Akash Bangla channel, which aired regularly with a repeat telecast the following morning.
• On March 12, 2004, at 10 pm, the director and anchor started their programme by stating that they had launched a campaign to stop the “mafia giri” of CESC Ltd.
• They also accused the state government and the administration of having handed over the bare minimum right of enjoying electricity to the public at large to a “tughlaqui” company, which indulges in “goondami”.
• They tried to portray that CESC was engaged in rampant illegal activities and was extorting money from their consumers on false pretences. 
• The programme started with a declaration that they intended to expose the ‘mafiagiri’ of CESC and went on to label the company as a ‘tughlaqui’ company. 

• Thereafter, the programme began giving alleged examples of the ‘goondami’ of CESC and referred to its activities as ‘zoolumbazi’ and openly alleged them to have become a ‘big thief’. 
• An employee of the company, an assistant manager, was shown as a bald person with a French-cut beard, having the effect of a devilish personality in a cartoon film through caricature. 
• The executive director of the said company gave an interview to the representatives of the Khoj Khabar programme company and explained that the portrayal of CESC in various aspects of the programme was untrue on March 15, 2004.
• It was further claimed that despite collecting information and recording statements from CESC, instead of telecasting true and actual facts, they, in their subsequent telecast, again indulged in making derogatory imputations against the said company by misrepresenting their explanations. 
• On May 6, 2004, the company, through its advocate, issued a letter to the anchor, director of the said programme, calling upon them to undertake not to publish similar telecasts and to immediately issue an unequivocal public retraction and make a publication of the same by the same telecast.
• However, even after receipt of the said notice, the programme director and anchor failed to withdraw the defamatory publication against the said company. 

‘Episode, show off air for 15 years’

• The Calcutta High Court observed that the case has been pending since 2004, and at the end, the production house, programme director, and anchor have filed the unconditional apology, and the said company has accepted the same. 
• The episode has been taken off all media of circulation, and no further dissemination has taken place for the last 15 years. 
• It is also stated that “Khoj Khabar” has been off air for the last 15 years, and over the last few decades, the said company has been defunct. 
• The director of the programme, being a senior citizen, has withdrawn from active journalism. 
• The production company and the director deeply regret the events leading to the filing of the case and render their unconditional apology. 
• It is further stated that they will not agitate the matter any further.  
• The anchor of the said programme has tendered his unconditional apology to the said company and its officials and prayed for acceptance of his apology.  
• It is the case of the company that the telecast made by the defendants is defamatory and is intended to bring them into ridicule, hatred, disrepute and contempt of its consumers and right-thinking members of society.
• Considering the unconditional apology, age and stage of the case, the high court directed the TV programme producer company, programme director and anchor to pay damages of Rs 1,000 each to the company. 
• They were also directed to pay a cost of Rs 5,000 towards the litigation costs.

‘Produced, directed in good faith’

• The director of the programme claimed that the production company is engaged in telecasting a daily programme which runs under the name and style of “Khoj Khabar”.
• He said that the programme focused on revealing truths before the citizens to enlighten them about the real facts and circumstances, so that they cannot fall into the hope of the companies and other personnel.
• They claimed that the said company has asked them for assistance to identify the power theft through their memo of February 2, 2008, which proves that they have been showing the right thing to the citizens of India. 
• They claimed that they had made the telecast in good faith. 

‘Anchor’s role just reading script’

• The anchor of the programme said that he is a professional anchor and is engaged in various television programmes and live functions. 
• As a professional actor, he mentioned that he had only played the role of an anchor of the programme “Khoj Khabar”, which was a production of the said production house. 
• He stated that, being an anchor of the programme “Khoj Khabar”, he used to read out scripts which were given to him by the employer and had no power or authority to edit the scripts. 
• He also claimed that he is not related to the management of the production company, nor is he in charge of any documents, films, CDs, or any materials whatsoever connected with the programme or telecast. 
• He submitted that before the programme, the telecast on television goes through several processes and stages.
• He further added that after completion of all formalities, the anchor is called for only reading and presenting the final script before the camera without any addition or alteration as per the direction of the director of the programme concerned.