Defamation: Sections 499 & 500 PPC

The definition, as retrieved

499. Defamation: Whoever by words either spoken or intended to be read, or by signs or by visible representations, makes or publishes any imputation concerning any person intending to harm, or knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm, the reputation of such person, is said, except in the cases hereinafter excepted, to defame that person. Explanation 1: It may amount to defamation to impute anything to a deceased person, if the imputation would harm the reputation of that person if living, and is intended to be hurtful to the feelings of his family or other near relatives. Explanation 2: It may amount to defamation to make an imputation concerning a company or an association or collection of persons as such. Explanation 3: An imputation in the form of an alternative or expressed ironically may amount to defamation. Explanation 4: No imputation is said to harm a person's reputation unless it directly or indirectly lowers the moral or intellectual character of that person, or lowers their character in respect of caste or calling, or lowers their credit, or causes it to be believed that their body is in a loathsome or generally disgraceful state. Pakistan Penal Code — Chapter XXI, Section 499. Retrieved from the corpus indexed by FAI Legal Research Assistant.

The punishment, as retrieved

500. Punishment for defamation: Whoever defames another shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both. Pakistan Penal Code — Chapter XXI, Section 500. Retrieved from the corpus indexed by FAI Legal Research Assistant.

Retrieved via full-text search of the indexed Pakistan Penal Code. The corpus flags this text as unverified for currency or amendment — see the caution below before relying on it.

The ten exceptions

Section 499 defines defamation broadly, then immediately narrows it with ten named exceptions — conduct that is not defamation even though it fits the definition. As retrieved, they are:

• Imputation of truth which public good requires to be made or published.
• Good-faith opinion on the public conduct of a public servant.
• Good-faith opinion on any person's conduct touching a public question.
• Publication of a substantially true report of court proceedings.
• Good-faith opinion on the merits of a case already decided by a court, or on a witness's conduct in it.
• Good-faith opinion on the merits of a public performance.
• Good-faith censure by someone with lawful authority over another.
• Good-faith accusation to a person with lawful authority over the accused.
• Good-faith imputation made to protect one's own or another's interest.
• Good-faith caution given for the benefit of the person warned, or for the public good.

What this page does not cover

• The illustrations attached to each exception in the full text, which this page summarizes rather than reproduces in full.
• Civil defamation remedies, which are separate from this criminal provision.
• Amendments made after this text was indexed — the corpus notes a proviso to Section 499 was itself omitted by a 1986 amendment.

Frequently asked

Is criticism of a public servant automatically defamation?

No. The second exception specifically protects a good-faith opinion on a public servant's conduct in their public functions, or on their character so far as it appears in that conduct — and no further.

Can a company be defamed under Section 499?

Explanation 2 to the section states that an imputation concerning a company, association, or collection of persons as such may amount to defamation.