Requisites of defamation

 Requisites of defamation by Kalyani

What is defamation?

Defamation is when a person acts or says anything t anyone in order to lower his or her reputation than such act is called defamation.

The 4 requisites common is as follows:

1. The statement must be defamatory:

The statement used by the person to another person must be defamatory per se. it must indicate that whatever has been said can be pernicious to the other persons reputation.

The statement will be defamatory if it 

• Exposes the plantiff to hatred , ridicule

• Tends to injure him in his profession or trade

• Cause him to be shunned.

the relevancy of intention or motive:

Where the words are defamatory, the question of intention or motive with which they are used is quite immaterial.  

Good faith or ignorance of the defamatory nature of the statement is no defence for a man utters defamatory statements at his peril.

Innuendo: 

Sometimes defamation is not apparent or prima facie. It is often couched in subtle language. 

Words which are not defamatory in the ordinary sense may nevertheless convey a defamatory meaning owing to particular circumstances in which they are spoken. 

2. The statement must refer to the plaintiff

The second requisite of defamation is that the statement alleged to be defamatory must refer to the plantiff. 

In every action of defamation the plantiff  needs to prove that the statement refers to him.

3. The statement must be published

“publication”, in the present context, means making the matter known to some person other than the plantiff. It is publication not the mere speaking or wrtting of defamatory words which is the gist of the tort of defamation.

4. The statement must be false;

Lastly the defamatory statement must be false which was spoken against the plantiff.

Plantiff need not prove that it is false.