STATE OF MAHARASHTRA vs DR. R. B. CHOWDHARY & 2 ORS.

The Supreme Court held that under Section 7 of the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867, a presumption of responsibility for published material can only be drawn against the declared editor, in this case, M. A. Deshmukh. The Court found that there was no evidence linking the respondents, members of the Editorial Board, to the publication of the defamatory article, and thus they were rightly discharged by the High Court. The Court emphasized that M's admission under Section 342 of the CrPC could not be used against the respondents, affirming the High Court's decision.