Under Indian law, defamation can be a civil wrong or a criminal offence. Civil defamation can be libel (through writing) or slander (spoken word), and is based on tort law (law imposing civil liability). It is punishable with financial compensation, and damages are computed based on probabilities.
In California, you must prove five elements to establish a defamation claim: An intentional publication of a statement of fact; That is false; That is unprivileged; That has a natural tendency to injure or causes “special damage;” and, The defendant's fault in publishing the statement amounted to at least negligence.
Under Indian law, a plaintiff can choose to sue for defamation as a criminal offence and/or as a civil offence.
For this, several strict requirements must be met: 1️⃣ The statement must be unarguably defamatory; 2️⃣ There must be no grounds to conclude that the statement could be true; 3️⃣ There should be no other defence which might succeed; and 4️⃣ There must be evidence of an intention to repeat or further publish the ...
Slander can be hard to prove, as the complainant must show the slanderer was driven by malice and knew their claims were false. Slander is different from libel, which are false statements made through print or broadcast.
The Five Elements of Defamation Explained The Information was Made Public. The Defaming Statement Names the Person. The Defamatory Statement Had a Negative Impact on the Victim's Reputation. The Published Remarks are Demonstrably False. The Defendant In the Case Is At Fault for the Defamation.
The most common defenses to defamation are: 1) truth; 2) consent; 3) privilege; and 4) the statute of limitations. Perhaps the most distinct aspect of the defamation cause of action is that falsity is required. In other words, the statement publicized about the plaintiff must be false in order to prove defamation.
Second, libel is actionable per se (i.e. without proof of damage) whereas slander, subject to exceptions (see below), is actionable only upon proof of 'special' damage (actual damage is probably a less misleading and therefore better phrase to use though)