The right to free speech and the right to reputation have been locked in combat for a long time. Courts have tried to maintain the uneasy balance between the two by following the laws laid down. To do this, they usually act on a complaint filed against a published item and after listening to both the parties, decide on whether the offending item should be removed and what damages might be awarded.

Unfortunately, the courts seem to be digressing from this accepted norm.

The latest example of this came in the Jay Shah case (hereinafter “present case”) when an Ahmedabad court barred The Wire from publishing anything regarding the businesses belonging to Shah (interestingly, the article which is the basis of the case is still online). Firstly, this is a case of prior restraint (a discussion on that aspect available here). Secondly, the injunction was granted “ex-parte” which means the court did not hear The Wire before passing the order.