Supreme Court overturns defamation case filed by DMK mouthpiece against Union Minister L. Murugan, ruling in favor of the minister.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court of India quashed the defamation case filed by the mouthpiece of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party against Union Minister L. Murugan [Dr. L. Murugan vs Murasoli Trust].
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan delivered the ruling after Murasoli Trust, the publisher of the mouthpiece, expressed its decision not to pursue the case. The Trust cited Murugan’s statement, clarifying that he had no intention of harming anyone’s reputation. As a result, the Bench allowed Murugan’s appeal against the Madras High Court order, which had declined to quash the defamation case.
In September, the Supreme Court had previously stayed the proceedings of the trial court in the case.
Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra, along with advocates NR Elango and Devyani Gupta, represented Murasoli Trust. Senior Counsel K Parameshwar, along with Advocate Geet Ahuja, appeared for L. Murugan.
The case stemmed from remarks made by Murugan during a press conference in which he alleged that Murasoli Trust was operating on land intended for Dalits in Tamil Nadu. Murugan had argued before the Madras High Court that his comments were not directed at the Trust specifically, and therefore, no defamation charge could be made.
The High Court had observed that Murugan’s statements might be interpreted as questioning the legal rights to the property in question. However, it declined to intervene at that stage and allowed the trial court proceedings to continue. Subsequently, Murugan approached the Supreme Court, which has now quashed the defamation case.
The case highlights the balance between free speech and defamation, with the Supreme Court ruling in favour of dismissing the proceedings after the Trust chose not to pursue the matter further.