The Allahabad High Court has thrown out a criminal defamation case against Sanjay Dixit, the founder of Jaipur Dialogues Forum. Justice Brij Raj Singh delivered the ruling, quashing the proceedings against the former IAS officer.
Court Cites Lack of Evidence
Justice Singh pointed out a critical flaw in the case. The complainant failed to produce any witnesses who could support the defamation claims. The court emphasized that for an imputation to qualify as defamatory, it must actually lower a person's reputation in the eyes of others.
"No witness has been produced by the opponent who could substantiate his case," the court observed clearly. This absence of supporting testimony proved fatal to the complaint.
Procedural Irregularities Noted
The court identified significant procedural problems with how the case began. The magistrate who issued summons relied solely on the complainant's statement. The magistrate did not consider any witness testimony under Section 202 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
This oversight meant the complainant never established a prima facie case that the alleged remarks actually damaged his reputation publicly. The court found the magistrate's order suffered from clear procedural irregularities.
Background of the Case
The controversy started with a complaint filed in December 2020 by Syed Rizwan Ahmad, a social activist and news panellist. Ahmad accused Dixit of defaming him through a Twitter post from July 2019.
In that post, Dixit allegedly referred to Ahmad using terms like "Casanova, lovebird and munafiq" (hypocrite). Ahmad also claimed that during an October 2020 video on the Jaipur Dialogues YouTube channel, a guest accused him of trapping young women in "love jihad" and filing false police reports.
The original complaint invoked multiple legal provisions including Section 500 of the IPC for defamation and Section 66 of the Information Technology Act for computer-related offenses. Following court proceedings and summons, Dixit approached the High Court seeking to quash the entire case.
About Sanjay Dixit
Sanjay Dixit served as an Indian Administrative Service officer in the Rajasthan cadre from 1986 until his retirement in 2020. After leaving government service, he established the Jaipur Dialogues Forum.
This think tank describes its mission as promoting Indic knowledge systems and fostering deeper understanding of Hindu culture and philosophy. The forum engages in regular discussions and content creation around these themes.
The High Court's decision brings legal closure to this particular defamation matter. The ruling underscores the evidentiary requirements necessary to sustain defamation claims under Indian law.
