Defamation - Defence Of Truth Must Extend To Entire Libel And Not Just A Part Of It: Bombay HC

06 Aug 2025 --
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Context: Defamation and Defence of Truth

Defamation occurs when a false statement harms a person’s reputation. In civil or criminal defamation, a common defence is that the statement made was true.

However, the Bombay High Court has clarified that the defence of truth cannot be piecemeal — meaning you can’t justify only some parts of the allegedly defamatory statement as true and ignore the rest. The defence of truth must cover the entire content of the libel or publication.

What Does This Mean?

If a person publishes or makes a defamatory statement consisting of several allegations or parts, and they want to defend themselves by claiming truth, they must show that every significant part of the statement is true.

Merely proving that some portions are true but others are false or unproven is not sufficient to establish a valid defence.

Partial truth is not an absolute defence if the overall publication conveys a defamatory meaning.

Why is This Important?

Integrity of Reputation: Even if some parts of a statement are true, false or exaggerated parts may cause harm and defame the person.

Holistic Assessment: The court looks at the entire statement in its natural and ordinary meaning. If only part of the statement is true, the false part can still harm the reputation.

Preventing Abuse: This principle prevents defendants from mixing truth and falsehood to escape liability by highlighting true parts while damaging reputation with untrue claims.

Case Law Explanation (Based on Bombay HC’s Reasoning)

The Bombay High Court in such cases has emphasized the importance of the ‘entire libel’.

The court held that when a defence is taken on the ground of truth, it must be for the whole statement that caused the alleged defamation.

The court noted that if the truth defence fails for any part of the libel, the defence cannot succeed.

The ruling stresses that courts must consider the totality of the publication and cannot isolate parts to determine truthfulness selectively.

Illustration:

Suppose a newspaper publishes a defamatory article accusing a public figure of both financial fraud and moral misconduct. If the defendant proves that the financial fraud allegation is true but fails to prove the moral misconduct part, the defence of truth cannot be accepted for the entire publication. The false or unproven part continues to defame and harm reputation.