BOMBAY: The plea that a Bombay editor who offered an apology in a contempt of court proceeding, should in addition be asked to disclose the name of the writer of the article, which was the subject matter of the proceedings was advanced before Mr. Justice Macklin and Mr. Justice Sen at the Bombay High Court last week.

The Court turned down the plea, Mr. Justice Macklin remarking that although there were precedents to adopt the course suggested, it was not desirable to adopt it in the present case, as the object of compelling the disclosure of the writer’s name was to lay the foundation for libel and action or for criminal proceedings for defamation. His Lordship did not think it desirable to encourage that kind of thing. The opponent in the petition was Mr. F.R. Mehta, editor, printer and publisher of the Mumbai Vartman, a Gujarati daily newspaper. The petitioner was Mr. B.J. Todivala, a landlord, who is a plaintiff in an ejectment proceeding in the Small Causes Court. The issue of Mumbai Vartman of July 12 contained a report of counsel’s arguments before the Small Causes Court Judge on behalf of the defendant in the suit… — Dawn Delhi

BOMBAY: The plea that a Bombay editor who offered an apology in a contempt of court proceeding, should in addition be asked to disclose the name of the writer of the article, which was the subject matter of the proceedings was advanced before Mr. Justice Macklin and Mr. Justice Sen at the Bombay High Court last week.

The Court turned down the plea, Mr. Justice Macklin remarking that although there were precedents to adopt the course suggested, it was not desirable to adopt it in the present case, as the object of compelling the disclosure of the writer’s name was to lay the foundation for libel and action or for criminal proceedings for defamation. His Lordship did not think it desirable to encourage that kind of thing. The opponent in the petition was Mr. F.R. Mehta, editor, printer and publisher of the Mumbai Vartman, a Gujarati daily newspaper. The petitioner was Mr. B.J. Todivala, a landlord, who is a plaintiff in an ejectment proceeding in the Small Causes Court. The issue of Mumbai Vartman of July 12 contained a report of counsel’s arguments before the Small Causes Court Judge on behalf of the defendant in the suit…

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2019