Sahota v Middlesex Broadcasting Corporation Ltd & Ors [2021] EWHC 504 (QB) (05 March 2021)

Sahota v Middlesex Broadcasting Corporation Ltd & Ors [2021] EWHC 504 (QB) (05 March 2021)

The court found that the broadcast conveyed five meanings: (i) by his protest, the claimant deceived and misled people (fact, defamatory); (ii) the claimant is not a true supporter of Khalistan independence, but a hireling whose allegiance can be bought, supporting the cause only when paid (fact and opinion, defamatory); (iii) the claimant is not a true Sikh, having shown disrespect for the Sikh religion by altering the Nishan Sahib (fact and opinion, not defamatory); (iv) by standing with Kashmiri terrorists, the claimant showed ignorance and risked dividing the Sikh community and involving Sikhs in violence, hatred and terrorism (fact and opinion, defamatory); (v) the claimant and his...

Citation
[2021] EWHC 504 (QB)
Parties
Claimant: Amrik Singh Sahota; First Defendant: Middlesex Broadcasting Corporation Limited; Second Defendant: Jaswant Singh Bharj (aka Jaswant Singh Thekedar); Third Defendant: Parminder Singh Bal
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
05 March 2021
Procedural Posture
Defamation / Preliminary Issues Determination (meaning, Defamatory Nature, Fact/opinion)
Outcome
Preliminary issues determined: meanings found, defamatory nature identified, fact/opinion distinguished.
Legal Topics
Defamation—meaning of Words, Statements of Fact and Opinion, Defamatory at Common Law, Foreign Language Broadcasts, Media Publications
Media Law Defamation Defamation—meaning of Words Statements of Fact and Opinion Defamatory at Common Law Foreign Language Broadcasts Media Publications

Case Brief

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Parties

Amrik Singh Sahota

Claimant

Middlesex Broadcasting Corporation Limited

First Defendant

Jaswant Singh Bharj (aka Jaswant Singh Thekedar)

Second Defendant

Parminder Singh Bal

Third Defendant

Procedural Posture

Defamation / Preliminary Issues Determination (meaning, Defamatory Nature, Fact/opinion)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 What is the natural and ordinary meaning of the words complained of?
  2. 2 Are those meanings defamatory at common law?
  3. 3 Which parts are statements of fact and which are statements of opinion?

Ratio Decidendi

The court found that the broadcast conveyed five meanings: (i) by his protest, the claimant deceived and misled people (fact, defamatory); (ii) the claimant is not a true supporter of Khalistan independence, but a hireling whose allegiance can be bought, supporting the cause only when paid (fact and opinion, defamatory); (iii) the claimant is not a true Sikh, having shown disrespect for the Sikh religion by altering the Nishan Sahib (fact and opinion, not defamatory); (iv) by standing with Kashmiri terrorists, the claimant showed ignorance and risked dividing the Sikh community and involving Sikhs in violence, hatred and terrorism (fact and opinion, defamatory); (v) the claimant and his...

Court Disposition

Preliminary issues determined: meanings found, defamatory nature identified, fact/opinion distinguished.

Orders

  • Meanings (i), (ii), and (iv) are defamatory at common law; meanings (iii) and (v) are not defamatory.
  • Parts of meanings (ii), (iii), and (iv) are statements of opinion; the rest are statements of fact.