Chakravarti v Advertiser Newspapers Ltd

HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

BRENNAN CJ,
GAUDRON, McHUGH, GUMMOW AND KIRBY JJ

MANOBENDRO CHAKRAVARTI  APPELLANT

AND

ADVERTISER NEWSPAPERS LIMITED  RESPONDENT

Chakravarti v Advertiser Newspapers Limited (A41-1996)
 [1998] HCA 37
20 May 1998

ORDER

1. Appeal allowed with costs.

1. Cross-appeal dismissed with costs.

1. Set aside the orders of the Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia.

1. Remit the appellant's cross-appeal to the Full Court to that Court for further hearing and determination in accordance with the reasons of this Court.

1. Remit Ground 6 of the respondent's appeal to the Full Court to that Court for hearing and determination in accordance with the reasons of this Court.  Otherwise dismiss the appeal to that Court with costs.

On appeal from the Supreme Court of South Australia

2.

Representation:

T A Gray QC with P A Heywood-Smith and R J Bradshaw for the appellant (instructed by Johnston Withers)

B R McClintock SC with A R Harris and G O'L Reynolds for the respondent (instructed by Lawson Downs)

Notice:  This copy of the Court’s Reasons for Judgment is subject to formal revision prior to publication in the Commonwealth Law Reports.

CATCHWORDS

Chakravarti v Advertiser Newspapers Limited

Defamation - Defence of fair and accurate report - Meaning to be determined before considering fairness of report - Whether newspaper report of meeting of Royal Commission fair and accurate - Whether letter or statement by way of contradiction or explanation is reasonable which inaccurately controverts the fairness or accuracy of report - Whether assessment of reasonableness of letter or statement by way of contradiction confined to consideration of facts known at time of writing.

Defamation - Practice - Pleadings - Whether plaintiff should plead all distinct meanings to be relied on - Whether the defendant can plead different meanings and justify them - Whether the plaintiff should be confined to meanings pleaded - Relevance of considerations of delay, disadvantage, prejudice and embarrassment of fair trial of action - Reliance by plaintiff on different meanings pleaded by defendant - Reliance by plaintiff on meanings comprehended in or less injurious than meanings actually pleaded - Reliance by parties on variants of meanings pleaded.

Defamation - Common law privilege - Whether privilege extends to publication of a fair report of the proceedings of a royal commission.

Damages - Defamation - Applicability to report that is not fair or accurate of approach of subtracting effect of non-actionable parts of defamatory article from defamatory parts in calculating damages - Requirement of special damage in law of slander - Evidence of general loss of business as proof of special damage - Lost earning capacity as special damage in defamation law - Recovery for lost earning capacity productive of actual loss.

Civil Procedure - Pleadings - Defence to respond to Statement of Claim - Embarrassment arising from introduction of a false issue.

Words and Phrases:  "fair and accurate report", "meeting of any royal commission", "reasonable letter or statement by way of contradiction or explanation".

Wrongs Act 1936 (SA), s 7(1).

Supreme Court Rules (SA),…