W.P.(C) No.45079/2024 & Crl.M.C. No.680/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE P.V.KUNHIKRISHNAN
THURSDAY, THE 3RD DAY OF JULY 2025 / 12TH ASHADHA, 1947
WP(C) NO. 45079 OF 2024
PETITIONER(S):
GEORGE ROY
AGED 64 YEARS
S/O K.K JOHN, 5 D1, MANJOORAN MOONSTONE APARTMENT,
PALARIVATTOM POST, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT, PIN - 682025
BY ADVS.
SHRI.K.N.ABHILASH
SHRI.SUNIL NAIR PALAKKAT
SHRI.RISHI VARMA T.R.
SHRI.RITHIK S.ANAND
SMT.SREELAKSHMI MENON P.
SHRI.SREEJITH A.
SRI.V.SREEJITH
RESPONDENT(S):
1 UNION OF INDIA
REP BY THE SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT OF INDIA,
MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE, A WING, SHASTRI
BHAWAN, NEW DELHI., PIN - 110001
2 THE STATE OF KERALA
REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY TO THE KERALA STATE
LAW DEPARTMENT, SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,
PIN - 695001
3 CYRIAC THOMAS
W.P.(C) No.45079/2024 & Crl.M.C. No.680/2025
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PENTHOUSE MANJOORAN MOONSTONE APARTMENTS,
PALARIVATTOM POST, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT, PIN - 682025
4 P V RAJEEVAN
10 D1 MANJOORAN MOONSTONE APARTMENT, PALARIVATTOM
POST, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT, PIN - 682025
BY ADVS.
SHRI.T.J.LAKSHMANAN IYER
DIRECTOR GENERAL OF PROSECUTION
SRI.C.S. HRITHWICK, SENIOR G.P.
THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION
ON 03.07.2025, ALONG WITH Crl.MC.680/2025, THE COURT ON THE
SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
W.P.(C) No.45079/2024 & Crl.M.C. No.680/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE P.V.KUNHIKRISHNAN
THURSDAY, THE 3RD DAY OF JULY 2025 / 12TH ASHADHA, 1947
CRL.MC NO. 680 OF 2025
AGAINST THE ORDER/JUDGMENT DATED IN CC NO.489 OF 2019
OF JUDICIAL MAGISTRATE OF FIRST CLASS - IX, ERNAKULAM
PETITIONER(S)/1ST ACCUSED:
P.V.RAJEEVAN,
AGED 51 YEARS
10 D1, MANJOORAN MOONSTONE APARTMENT, PALARIVATTOM
POST, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT, PIN - 682025
BY ADVS.
SHRI.K.N.ABHILASH
SHRI.SUNIL NAIR PALAKKAT
SMT.N.K.SHEEBA
SHRI.RISHI VARMA T.R.
SHRI.RITHIK S.ANAND
SMT.K.M.TINTU
SMT.SREELAKSHMI MENON P.
SHRI.SREEJITH A.
RESPONDENT(S)/STATE, COMPLAINANT AND 2ND ACCUSED:
1 STATE OF KERALA,
REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR,HIGH COURT OF
KERALA, PIN - 682031
2 CYRIAC THOMAS,
W.P.(C) No.45079/2024 & Crl.M.C. No.680/2025
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PENTHOUSE MANJOORAN MOONSTONE APARTMENTS,
PALARIVATTOM POST, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT, PIN - 682025
3 GEORGE ROY,
S/O K.K JOHN, 5 D1 MANJOORAN MOONSTONE APARTMENT,
PALARIVATTOM POST, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT, PIN - 682025
BY ADVS.
SMT. S.SEETHA, SERNIOR PP
THIS CRIMINAL MISC. CASE HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON
03.07.2025, ALONG WITH WP(C).45079/2024, THE COURT ON THE
SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING:
W.P.(C) No.45079/2024 & Crl.M.C. No.680/2025
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P.V.KUNHIKRISHNAN, J
--------------------------------
and
-------------------------------
Dated this the 03rd day of July, 2025
JUDGMENT/ORDER
These two cases are connected and therefore I am
disposing of these cases by a common judgment/order.
2. Petitioners in these cases are accused Nos.1
and 2 in C.C. No.489 of 2019 on the file of the Judicial First
Class Magistrate Court-IX, Ernakulam. The above complaint
was filed by one Cyriac Thomas alleging offences punishable
under Sections 499 and 500 r/w 34 of the Indian Penal Code,
1860. The learned Magistrate taken cognizance of the
offences and issued summons to the petitioners. According to
the petitioners, even if the entire allegations in the complaint
are accepted in toto, no offence is made out.
3. Heard the learned counsel appearing for the
W.P.(C) No.45079/2024 & Crl.M.C. No.680/2025
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petitioners. Even though notice is issued to the complainant
in these cases, there is no appearance for the complainant.
4. The short point raised by the petitioners is
that, even if the entire allegations in the complaint are
accepted in toto, it will hit by explanation No.4 of Section 499
IPC. The counsel also submitted that there is no defamation
even if the allegations in the complaint are accepted because
it is published in a close Gmail group and it was not published
on a public platform.
5. I think there is force in the argument of the
petitioners. The allegations in the complaint are mentioned in
paragraph Nos. 6 to 15 of the complaint. The same is
extracted hereunder:
"6. In the mean time the accused and a few
others have colluded with the builders who have suffered
the above orders to promote an association under the
Travancore Cochin Literary Scientific And Charitable
Societies Act, with the name "Moonstone Apartment
Owners Association". It is to be noted that The action of
forming an association under the Travancore Cochin Act,
was a steep deviation from the earlier position to promote
W.P.(C) No.45079/2024 & Crl.M.C. No.680/2025
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an association under the Kerala Apartment Ownership Act.
7. The Complainant has approached the District
Court Emakulam (Vacation Court) in IA NO. 1812/17
seeking an Injunction restraining the respondents and
others including Moonstone Apartment Association from
preventing him from using common area facilities
attached to his apartment including use of lift, staircase
and other common facilities and two covered car parking
until further orders.
8. The respondents are aggrieved by the interim
order of injunction passed against them and others. In the
back drop of the interim injunction dated 27.04.2017 in IA
NO. 1812/17 passed by the District Court Ernakulam,
they have written and published emails containing
defamatory statements to
[email protected]. It is a group mail
facility, whereby the email send by the members of the
group can be accessed by all the members of the group.
The complainant and the respondents are the members of
the group. There are 34 other members in the group,
going by the mail IDs added to the group. It includes the
mail IDs of the owners of the apartments as well as
outsiders. All the members of the group are not the
members of the association formed by the first accused
under the Travancore Cochin Act.
9. The first in the 5th paragraph of the email
dated 06 /05/2017 has stated as follows:
"Mr.Cyriac, on whom we had tremendous hope
W.P.(C) No.45079/2024 & Crl.M.C. No.680/2025
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to use his expertise & experience for the betterment of
the flat owners & guiding us through our legal case
against the builders had completely deceived us."
The statement gives an impression to the
readers of the email that the complainant had deceived
them. It is to be noted that the complainant was one
among the aggrieved owners who have taken recourse to
legal remedies. The complainant was not entrusted with
the obligation to conduct the legal case against the
builders, on the other hand it was handled by the accused
and two other office bearers of the Association formed
under the Travancore Cochin Act. The complainant has
never given anyone the hope in the nature mentioned in
the imputation. The imputation itself is false and was
made with the intention to show the complainant in bad
light before unsuspecting members of the email group,
who are unaware of the truth of the matter.
1O. The first accused in 5th paragraph, second
sentence has stated as follows;
"Instead of helping all flat owners to get justice
from the wrong doings of the builders he has fooled all of
us by seeking injunction in the hope to enjoy the common
areas & facilities at the expense of we gullible 30 flat
owners of the Moonstone Apartments."
A reading of the above statement again gives
the impression to the members of the group that the
complainants have footed them by obtaining an injunction
from a competent court. According to the first
W.P.(C) No.45079/2024 & Crl.M.C. No.680/2025
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respondent, the complainant has approached the court,
with the hope to enjoy the common area & facilities at the
expense of the other flat owners. The imputation is
incorrect, misleading and is otherwise targeting at the
judicial process and the court, and it may even go to the
extent of undermining it.
11. The first accused in 6 th paragraph of the
email has stated as follows:
"Just to enjoy the common area, facilities,
services including common area electricity, security,
operational lifts, at the expense of others without paying
the maintenance fees Mr. Cyriac has staged soon a
contemptible gimmick."
In the above imputation the complainant has
described the complainant as having committed a
'contemptible gimmick by filing the case before a
competent court. He has repeated the imputation that the
complainant has instituted the legal proceedings to enjoy
the common area facilities, at the expense of others and
without paying maintenance fees. The term contemptible
would mean deserving contempt. It may also mean in
ordinary parlance as shameful and disgraceful. The term
gimmick would mean 'a concealed, usually devious aspect
or feature of something as a plan or deal'. The institution
of a litigation cannot at any stretch of imagination be
considered a shameful or a trick. However, when the
above imputations are read by other members of the
group who are placed in various parts of the world would
W.P.(C) No.45079/2024 & Crl.M.C. No.680/2025
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get an impression that the complainant is a person with
bad character.
12.The first accused in the 7 th paragraph of the
email has stated as follows:
"Mr. Cyriac with his malafide intentions, conceit
& clandestine act has deceived each one of us."
The first accused would describe the
complainant's act of instituting the original petition, as
malafide, conceit and clandestine. The term malafide
intention would mean ulterior motive, conceit would mean
an excessively favourable opinion about once own ability
importance or wit etc, and clandestine means
'...characterised by, done in or executed with secrecy or
concealment especially for purposes of subversion or
deception: private or surreptitious. It may be recalled that
the first accused has described the complainants action of
instituting a civil proceeding is described in such an
uncharitable manner so as to demean him and to cause
serious loss of reputation in the minds of the persons who
read the email.
13. The first accused in the last paragraph has
stated as follows;
"As we say charity begins at home, let our
charity begin with permitting Mr. Cyriac to enjoy the
common facilities, services with the maintenance fund
pooled from our hard earned income."
The complainant in this paragraph is described
as person who is receiving a charity. The statement is
W.P.(C) No.45079/2024 & Crl.M.C. No.680/2025
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sarcastically couched to give an impression that the
complainant is a person who lives on the donations of
others.
14. The second respondent, in response to the
email dated 06/05/2017 of the first accused has send a
response email dated 06/05/2017 which is more
defamatory, which reads as follows;
"I would like to spend my hard earned money to
feed some stray dogs than giving charity to one of our
most respected moonstone members."
The second complainant has paraphrased the
complainant as equivalent to stray dogs or even worse.
The imputation on the very bare reading is abusive and
indented to defame the complainant.
15.The above said e-mails were written and
published in the mail group
'[email protected], whereby the email
send by the members of the group can be accessed by all
the members of the group. A perusal of the mail group
has revealed that other members of the group have read
the e-mail. Reading of the emails of the respondents has
harmed the reputation of the complainant in the minds of
the other owners and users of the email group. Those who
read the emails containing imputations had gathered an
impression that the complainant has committed cheating
on the apartment owners and is a person living in the
charity of others. The respondents have acted in
furtherance to common intention in causing disrepute to
W.P.(C) No.45079/2024 & Crl.M.C. No.680/2025
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the complainant, hence they have committed an offence
punishable under Sec.499 and Sec. 500 read with Section
34 IPC. This complaint is filed without prejudice to the
right of the complainant to take recourse to civil
proceedings for recovery of damages."
6. I fail to understand how the offences under
Sections 499 and 500 IPC are made out in these cases.
Admittedly, it is published in the mail group
[email protected]. Certain opinions are
given by the accused. Even if the allegations mentioned in
the complaint are accepted, I think the offences under
Sections 499 and 500 of the IPC are not made out. Moreover,
Explanation 4 of Section 499 IPC is extracted hereunder:
"4. No imputation is said to harm a person'
reputation, unless that imputation directly or indirectly, in
the estimation of others, lowers the moral or intellectual
character of that person, or lowers the character of that
person in respect of his caste or of his calling, or lowers
the credit of that person, or causes it to be believed that
the body of that person is in a loathsome state, or in a
state generally considered as disgraceful."
W.P.(C) No.45079/2024 & Crl.M.C. No.680/2025
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7. I am of the considered opinion that
Explanation 4 of Section 499 is attracted in this case. No
defamation is made out, even if the entire allegations in the
complaint are accepted. Therefore, I think the proceedings
against the petitioners can be quashed.
Therefore, all further proceedings against the
petitioners in these cases in C.C. No.489/2019 on the file of
the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-IX, Ernakulam are
quashed.
Sd/-
P.V.KUNHIKRISHNAN, JUDGE
DM
W.P.(C) No.45079/2024 & Crl.M.C. No.680/2025
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PETITIONER ANNEXURES
ANNEXURE A1 A TRUE COPY OF THE COMPLAINT IN C.C. NO.
489 OF 2017 DATED 16.05.2017 OF THE JFCM-
IX, KUNNUMPURAM, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT,
FILED BY THE 2ND RESPONDENT ALONG WITH
THE STATEMENT OF PW1
ANNEXURE A2 A TRUE COPY OF THE DETAILS OF THE
PARTICIPANTS IN THE EMAIL GROUP
W.P.(C) No.45079/2024 & Crl.M.C. No.680/2025
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APPENDIX OF WP(C) 45079/2024
PETITIONER EXHIBITS
EXHIBIT P1 A TRUE COPY OF THE COMPLAINT IN C.C. NO.
489 OF 2017 DATED 16.05.2017 OF THE JFCM-
IX, KUNNUMPURAM, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT,
FILED BY THE 2ND RESPONDENT
EXHIBIT P2 THE TRUE COPY OF THE SUMMONS DATED
14/10/2024 ISSUED BY THE JFCM KUNNUMPARAM
EXHIBIT P3 A TRUE COPY OF THE DETAILS OF THE
PARTICIPANTS IN THE EMAIL GROUP
