The Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the editor, printer and publisher of Tamil magazine Junior Vikatan to pay Rs 25 lakhs in compensation to Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader TR Baalu for publishing defamatory content about him without verification, reported Bar and Bench.

The case was filed in 2014 about an article that was published in December 2013, in which the magazine attributed to Baalu statements made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during a closed-door general body meeting of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

Baalu told the court that the meeting was not open to the press and he did not speak during the proceedings, reported The Hindu.

Justice AA Nakkiran ruled that the magazine failed to provide evidence for its attribution. The court also highlighted that the meeting was private, with the press only present at the beginning and end.

“The report has been prepared on the basis of personal knowledge and information gathered from other sources without verifying the reports whether it is truth or not,” said the bench.

It added that while the press has the freedom to report news, it must be backed by proof.

“In the event of enjoying the freedom of press, they have all the liberty to publish the news to bring out to the people with the solid proof and they should not tarnish the image and reputation of a person without verifying the veracity of the news and confirming the same,” said the judge.

As a widely circulated magazine, Junior Vikatan should have exercised greater caution before publishing the news, he added.

“They [Junior Vikatan’s editor, printer and publisher] cannot take the privilege to tarnish the image and reputation of the plaintiff amongst the minds of the public while the plaintiff held in various posts,” the court said.

Baalu had sought Rs 1 crore in compensation from Junior Vikatan.

The magazine’s editor, publisher and printer had denied malicious intent, claiming the article was not defamatory. They also said that Baalu failed to prove harm.