NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday said the current practice of multiple criminal cases being filed in different parts of the country against a person for allegedly making a defamatory statement must be put to an end saying it would lead to anarchy and the accused would himself end up being a victim.

A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Prafulla C Pant said when a defamatory statement is made against an organization or organized group of people, all their members should not be allowed to file case. It said only the organization itself or a person authorized by it should be allowed to pursue the complaint against the accused.