By Manish-
Madras High Court Single Judge Bench of Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan in Ayeasha Bi v. Peerkhan Sahib made a serious observation –
An advocate who has acted professionally as per the instruction of client cannot be held criminally liable for defamation U/S 500 of IPC.
Madras High Court while quashed complaint against Advocate for criminal defamation. Court made it clear Advocate was just following Clients directions and performed his duties professionally.
Citing the case of Ayeasha Bi v. Peerkhan Sahib, a Single Judge Bench of Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan said-
“It is held that a lawyer is an advocate, one who speaks for another. Naturally beyond what his client tells him the lawyer has no opportunity to test the truth or falsity of the story put forward by the client.”
Bench added, “Therefore no lawyer could ever be prosecuted for defamation in regard to any instructions which he might have given to his lawyer, because it is the lawyer’s business to decide whether he could properly act upon the instructions, and whatever responsibility might ensue from acting upon those instruction would be his, and no one else’s, is opposed to the entire trend of decisions defining the scope and extent of the privilege conferred upon the lawyer.”