Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha on Thursday said that he will introduce the Decriminalisation of Defamation Bill in Rajya Sabha. The Bill, if passed, will repeal sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Raghav Chadha said: "Criminal defamation has become a tool to suppress the voice of the opposition, which holds the government accountable. Laws should ideally change with changing times. As an MP, I'm doing my bit and taking a step in that direction."
"Soon, I'll be introducing a Bill titled The Decriminalization of Defamation Bill, 2023 to repeal Sections 499 & 500 of the India Penal Code to bring it in line with international jurisprudence on defamation & repeal these relics of colonial past to ensure fearless discourse," he tweeted.
The Rajya Sabha MP's announcement comes on a day that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was found guilty in a defamation case. A court in Gujarat's Surat on Thursday convicted Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in the defamation case for his alleged 'Modi surname' remark during the 2019 Lok Sabha poll campaign. He was sentenced to two years in jail by the court. Later, the court, which held Gandhi guilty under Indian Penal Code sections 499 and 500, granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court
Section 499 reads: "Whoever, by words either spoken or intended to be read, or by signs or by visible representations, makes or publishes any imputation concerning any person intending to harm, or knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm, the reputation of such person, is said, except in the cases hereinafter excepted, to defame that person."
Section 500, which deals with the punishment for defamation, stipulates that "whoever defames another shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both".