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Supreme Court Upholds Homebuyers’ Right to Peaceful Protests Against Builders

The landmark ruling quashes a 2016 defamation case, affirming constitutional protections for consumer grievances expressed in mild and temperate language.

The Supreme Court has ruled that peaceful protests by homebuyers against builders does not amount to defamation. (PTI Photo/Atul Yadav) (PTI07_12_2024_000025A)
The defamation case against the residents was initiated in 2016 against which the Bombay high court in June 2024 refused to grant them relief and ordered them to face trial. (Representative photo)
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Overview

  • The Supreme Court quashed a criminal defamation case filed in 2016 by A Surti Developers against Mumbai homebuyers for erecting protest banners highlighting construction issues.
  • The Court ruled that peaceful protests using temperate language are protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and Exception 9 to Section 499 of the IPC.
  • Justices K. V. Viswanathan and N. Kotiswar Singh emphasized that criminalizing such protests would constitute an abuse of legal process.
  • The banners raised grievances over unaddressed construction defects, poor maintenance, and lack of society formation, without using offensive or defamatory language.
  • This decision reinforces consumers’ rights to express dissatisfaction non-abusively, equating their right to protest with developers’ right to commercial speech.