The High Court ruled that the notices defamed the husband while their divorce case was pending.
The Calcutta High Court recently fined a woman ₹1 lakh for publishing two notices in The Telegraph, accusing her husband of intending to remarry while still legally wed to her.
Justice Supratim Bhattacharya, sitting at the Circuit Bench in Port Blair, noted that the notices defamed the husband and damaged his reputation.
“In this present case, the wife has published a notice not only once but on two dates in a daily newspaper which is circulated in the said island which according to herself has been published without having the knowledge of the informant and in addition in spite of her diligent efforts she has not been able to gather the information as regards to the name of the girl with whom she has entangled her husband,” the Court observed.
Consequently, the Court ordered the woman to pay ₹1 lakh in compensation.
This ruling came in response to her appeal challenging the first appellate court’s decision, which had awarded ₹2 lakh in damages to the husband.
It was found that she had issued the newspaper notices without any factual backing, amounting to defamation, even as their divorce proceedings were still underway.
After reviewing the matter, the High Court modified the earlier decision and reduced the compensation to ₹1 lakh.
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