Kerala High Court quashes case against ex-MLA Sebastian Paul over speech comparing lawyers to street dogs

The Kerala High Court recently quashed a criminal defamation case filed against former parliamentarian, lawyer and journalist, Sebastian Paul over a 2016 speech in which he allegedly drew a comparison between lawyers and street dogs who fight without reason [Sebastian Paul v PR Ashokan & anr]..Justice G Gireesh of the High Court granted Paul relief on December 11 after concluding that his alleged remarks did not denigrate lawyers as a whole, but only criticised lawyers who engaged in violence. .The Court also pointed out that Paul himself was a lawyer. Therefore, the Court held that another lawyer cannot claim that such a comment hurt all lawyers or that he (complainant-lawyer) too was aggrieved by such a comment. "What had been mentioned (in the speech) was the so-called violent behaviour displayed by a group of lawyers who were involved in the fight with journalists ... the petitioner himself (Paul) is a lawyer having practice in various courts including this Court. Thus the controversial remarks made by the petitioner in his speech on 20.10.2016 cannot be said to be one intended to denigrate the entire lawyer community," the Court said. .The controversial speech was made in the backdrop of a standoff between lawyers and journalists in Kerala, which in 2016 had led to violent clashes between the two groups.In his speech, Paul was reported as having said that there are two groups in Kerala that attack without reason, one being lawyers and the other being rabid dogs.The comments were widely decried and even led to Paul's suspension by the Kerala High Court Advocates Association (KHCAA)..A criminal defamation case was then filed against Paul by an advocate named PR Ashokan who argued that the comments had defamed the lawyers' community as a class and, therefore, also affected him.The magistrate's court issued a summons to Paul in the matter, prompting him to approach the High Court to quash the proceedings. The High Court on December 11 allowed Paul's plea and quashed the case."It cannot be said that the above remarks of the petitioner had caused harm to the reputation of the first respondent as a member of the lawyer community. When viewed in the above perspective, it is not possible to conclude that the first respondent is a ‘person aggrieved by the offence’ as contemplated under sub Section (1) of Section 199 Cr.P.C.," the Court held..Sebastian Paul was represented by advocates Varada Surendran and Deepak Mohan.Advocate VT Madhavanunni and VA Satheesh appeared for PR Ashokan, while the State was represented by Public Prosecutor Sangeetharaj..[Read Order]