Mahender Ram v Harnandan Prasad (1958)

Law of Torts · Defamation

Facts.

The defendant sent the plaintiff a defamatory letter written in Urdu. He knew that the plaintiff did not know Urdu and would have to have it read out to him by somebody else, which is what happened.

Issue.

Is a defamatory letter addressed to the plaintiff alone “published” where the defendant knew a third person would have to read it to him?

Held.

Yes. Publication means communication to a person other than the plaintiff. Ordinarily a letter to the plaintiff alone is not published — but where the defendant knew, or must be taken to have known, that a third party would read it, publication is established.

Why it matters.

It decides the recurring Urdu/Tamil-letter problem, and it pairs with the sealed-abusive-letter problem, where the opposite result follows because no third party was contemplated.

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