Court caseAIR 2006 Del 300

In connection with the Jain Commission's inquiry into the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, the defendant, a politician, held a press conference at which he alleged that the plaintiff, a senior advocate, had received money from a banned organisation (the LTTE) in order to protect the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The allegations were reported in the press. The plaintiff sued in the Delhi High Court for damages for defamation. The defendant pleaded that the statements were connected with the commission's proceedings and privileged, and that they were true.

The Delhi High Court held the statements defamatory: an allegation that a senior advocate and public figure had taken money from a banned terrorist organisation plainly lowered him in the estimation of right-thinking people. The privilege that attaches to statements made in the course of proceedings before a commission of inquiry did not cover statements made outside those proceedings to the press at a press conference; privilege attaches to the occasion, not to the person or the subject matter. The defendant had not proved the truth of the allegations. He was held liable and ordered to pay damages (reported as Rs 5 lakh) to the plaintiff.