Arujuna Sivananthan v Thurairajah Vasikaran

Arujuna Sivananthan v Thurairajah Vasikaran

Dr Sivananthan failed to discharge the statutory burden of proving that the WhatsApp posts complained of caused or were likely to cause serious harm to his reputation, as required by section 1 of the Defamation Act 2013. The evidence did not establish a causal link between the posts and reputational harm among the publishees, and the context was too partisan and familiar for the posts to have material impact.

Parties
Claimant: Dr Arujuna Sivananthan; Defendant: Mr Thurairajah Vasikaran
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
18 November 2022
Procedural Posture
Defamation / Final Judgment
Outcome
Claim dismissed; judgment for the defendant.
Legal Topics
Serious Harm Threshold, Whats App Publication, Reputational Harm, Freedom of Expression
Defamation Media Law Serious Harm Threshold Whats App Publication Reputational Harm Freedom of Expression

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Parties

Dr Arujuna Sivananthan

Claimant

Mr Thurairajah Vasikaran

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Defamation / Final Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether WhatsApp posts caused or were likely to cause serious harm to the claimant's reputation under section 1 of the Defamation Act 2013
  2. 2 Whether the posts were defamatory at common law
  3. 3 Causation of reputational harm by individual publications

Ratio Decidendi

Dr Sivananthan failed to discharge the statutory burden of proving that the WhatsApp posts complained of caused or were likely to cause serious harm to his reputation, as required by section 1 of the Defamation Act 2013. The evidence did not establish a causal link between the posts and reputational harm among the publishees, and the context was too partisan and familiar for the posts to have material impact.

Court Disposition

Claim dismissed; judgment for the defendant.