High Court dismisses defamation suit by ex-Kelab PJ veep against club

SHAH ALAM: The High Court here dismissed a suit filed by a former Kelab PJ vice-president against the club after finding no proof that a bulletin, said to contain defamatory statements, had been circulated to members.

Justice Nor Hayati Mat said Ragavan Rajoo failed to prove that the bulletin was disseminated to members, whether via WhatsApp, email, social media or any other platform, as claimed.

The club submitted that it had no case to answer to the plaintiff’s claim.

“Ragavan failed to prove his case. Therefore, Kelab PJ’s submission of no case to answer is allowed,” she said.

The court also ordered Ragavan to pay RM20,000 in costs to the club.

The suit was filed against the club on July 4, 2022, through its then honorary secretary, Ignatian Benedict Duraisingham.

Ragavan claimed that statements in the club’s October 2021 bulletin defamed him and harmed his reputation among members.

However, the club argued that despite having between 700 and 800 members at the time, Ragavan did not call even a single member to testify that they had received or read the bulletin.

On whether the statements were defamatory, the court accepted the club’s argument that Ragavan had exaggerated the meaning and effect of the words complained of.

The club said the references to Ragavan’s alleged dubious actions were made in the context of an internal governance dispute and did not amount to accusations of criminal conduct, fraud or dishonesty.

The court agreed that the bulletin must be read as a whole and from the perspective of a reasonable reader.

It held that the meanings attributed to the bulletin by Ragavan were strained.

Lawyers S Thilaga and Sangeetha Thana appeared for Ragavan, while Ashok Kandiah and Mishand Patmanathan represented the club.

When contacted, Ashok said Ragavan had not filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal, despite his right to do so within 30 days of the High Court’s judgment last month.

المصدر: Free Malaysia Today