The Hindu : National : Defamation case: Swamy discharged

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 16, 2006

National

National

Defamation case: Swamy discharged

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: M. Lakshmi Narayanan, VI Additional Sessions Judge, has discharged Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy from a criminal case of defamation filed on behalf of the then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi.

The court allowed a petition by the city Public Prosecutor seeking to withdraw the complaint, filed on the basis of a government order. As no charge had been framed against Dr. Swamy, the court discharged him.

The complaint was preferred following the publication of a per se defamatory article "Karunanidhi Padhavi Vilaga Vendum. Subramania Swamy Korikkai" in the Tamil magazine Kathiravan in its January 28, 1998 issue.

Dr. Swamy represented that the case was filed by the previous (DMK) Government and had been pending for more than seven years without progress. Hence, the matter should be withdrawn from prosecution. He also filed a petition to dismiss the complaint.

The petitioner then put forward the facts to the sanctioning authority. After considering Dr. Swamy's representation, the Government passed an order on December 30, 2005 permitting the prosecution to withdraw the case.

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