Abp Pvt. Ltd. v. Itc Hotels Ltd. & Ors.
Case brief
What is this about?
Defamation suit by ITC group companies against ABP over the Telegraph article 'smoke gets in his eyes' on ITC Chairman YCD; rejection of plaint under Order VII Rule 11(a) CPC refused — non-disclosure of cause of action distinct from non-existence of cause of action; locus standi cannot be decided at threshold, left for trial (relying on Madras HC in Mr. Tim Boyd v. Mr. Kesiraju Krishna Phani); Section 10 CPC stay refused as Plaintiff Nos. 2 and 3 were not parties to the Calcutta suit and substantial issues differed; corporate entity defamation; continuing cause of action via online publication; intra-court appeals under FAO(OS) dismissed. Keywords: Order VII Rule 11 CPC; Section 10 CPC; res sub judice; cause of action; locus standi; non-joinder; corporate defamation; interlocutory order; FAO(OS).
What did the court decide?
Failure to disclose a cause of action in the plaint and non-existence of a cause of action available to the plaintiffs are two different aspects with a fine distinction; on a holistic reading of the plaint, at this stage it cannot be concluded that the Delhi plaint does not disclose a cause of action.