Senior cabinet minister Mohammed Azam Khan has lodged an FIR with the Rampur police accusing the owner, editor and reporter of a news website of defaming him by publishing a write-up based on concocted events and a forged video clip. The FIR has been lodged with the Ganj police station of Rampur district on the basis of a complaint received from the minister by post around mid-night on August 14, 2014.
In his written complaint to the police, Azam has alleged that the accused have intentionally used a forged video clip as the basis of a news report which was intentionally aimed at defaming him. He stated that the news report in question was posted on August 12, 2014.
The complaint said that the news report was not only a violation of the Information Technology Act and sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) but a clear violation of the norms framed by the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC). In his complaint Azam has urged the police to register a case under sections 499, 501 and 502 apart from the relevant sections of the IT Act. The complaint carries a copy of the news report as well.
The FIR (case crime number 177/14) has been lodged with the Ganj police station of Rampur under IT Act's sections 66 A (sending false and offensive information that has a menacing character) and IPC sections 500 (Defamation-Punishment: Upto two years of imprisonment, or fine, or both), 501 (Printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory - Punishment: Upto 2 years imprisonment or fine or both) and 502 (Sale of printed substance containing defamatory matter - punishment: Upto 2 years imprisonment or fine or both).