K.M. Mathew vs K.A. Abraham & Ors

The Supreme Court held that under Section 7 of the Press & Registration of Books Act, 1867, only the Editor of a newspaper can be prosecuted for defamation under Section 500 IPC, as they are the ones responsible for the content published. The Court found that the Managing Editor and Chief Editor cannot be held liable unless they are specifically named as the Editor in the publication. Consequently, the appeals were allowed, quashing the proceedings against the appellants who were not the Editors of the respective newspapers.