Section 304: Publishing defamatory statement or writing upon the Council—The

304. Publishing defamatory statement or writing upon the Council—The appellant was prosecuted for publishing an article in a newspaper which was alleged to constitute a defamatory statement about the Legislative Council under section 6 (1) (n) of the Legislative Council (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Ordinance (by virtue of Act 48 of 1991 – now National Assembly (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act). He was convicted and sentenced to 6 weeks’ imprisonment. He pleaded that the impugned statement (i) was not a defamatory statement but a mere insult; (ii) even if it was defamatory, it was a reflection on individual members and not on the Council itself; (iii) he had no guilty intent; and (iv) the sentence was excessive. HELD (i) the statement contained an imputation of fact sufficiently precise as theoretically to be susceptible of proof in an inquiry or debate and conseuently constituted a defamation and not merely an insult; (ii) a defamatory statement made about an unnamed majority acting as the Council is necessarily a defamation of the Council; (iii) when a defamatory statement is published, the author is presumed in law to have the intent that it should be defamatory unless there is proof to the contrary, the burden of which lies upon the party charged; (iv) the term of imprisonment was manifestly excessive in view of the nature of the defamation, its circumstances, apparent weight and probable effect, and should be commuted into a fine. Coralie v R (1957). [Issue 1] CON – 244 Revised Laws of Mauritius F. Powers of Supreme Court