Wife Can Be Affected By Defamation Of Husband; Apart From Individual Reputations, Spouses Share Common Family Reputation
In a civil matter, the Supreme Court recently observed orally that while a husband and wife have individual reputations, there is also something called "family reputation" and a wife is likely to be affected by anything that tends to lower her husband's reputation.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh was dealing with an appeal filed by Spunklane Media Private Limited(which owns the news portal 'The News Minute) against an order of the Karnataka High Court. It involved an issue as to whether a wife, by way of subsequent impleadment of her husband (as co-plaintiff), can acquire better title in a suit to restrain media houses from publishing about a case against the husband.
The Court did not interfere with the High Court's order which affirmed the Trial Court's decision allowing the wife to join as a party in her husband's suit against the news portal.
Disposing of the appeal, Justice Kant said,
"A woman, a man...two persons...individually can suffer in terms of reputation. But definitely, [if] they are living together as husband and wife, and if they are a family, when you attack one, definitely, that attack impairs the psychology, the emotions and the social reputation of other family members. And most importantly, the wife will suffer because of husband. Husband will suffer because of wife...This was one of your arguments before the High Court...It would be a very dangerous proposition that living under the same roof, husband has a separate reputation, wife has a separate reputation...they may have separate [reputation] also, but they have a common, integral and integrated reputation also that's known as family reputation, a couple's reputation, a husband-wife's reputation."
SPUNKLANE MEDIA PRIVATE LIMITED Versus NIVEDITA SINGH AND ORS.,
