Indian Penal Code, 1860 · Chapter XXI: Of Defamation

Section 500: Punishment for defamation

The Indian Penal Code, 1860 was repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 from 1 July 2024. It still applies to offences and proceedings from before that date.

Corresponding sections were matched by comparing the wording of both official texts, and for the IPC and BNS, also against a published correspondence table. Wording, punishments and structure often changed, so read both sections before relying on the match.

Source: India Code (Legislative Department), the text of the Act as it stood before its repeal. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here.

Supreme Court judgments citing the section 500

• Anil Khandelwal Etc. v. Phoenix India and Anr.
  2025 INSC 106928 August 2025Appeal(s) allowed

  Whether the High Court erred in rejecting the quashing petition filed by the appellants-Officers of the Bank challenging the order passed by the Magistrate issuing process against them for the offences punishable…

• Devendra Kumar v. The State (Nct of Delhi) & Anr.
  2025 INSC 100920 August 2025Disposed of

  High Court affirmed the order passed by the CMM directing registration of the FIR against the petitioner for offences punishable u/ss.186 and 341, Penal Code, 1860. Whether the CMM erred in involving the police in a…

• Jaideep Bose v. M/S Bid and Hammer Auctioneers Private Limited
  2025 INSC 24117 February 2025Appeal(s) allowed

  Whether the High Court was justified in dismissing the petition filed by the appellants challenging the initiation of the criminal proceedings against them for the offences u/ss.499 and 500 IPC.

• Om Prakash Ambadkar v. The State of Maharashtra & Ors.
  2025 INSC 13916 January 2025Appeal(s) allowed

  Magistrate passed an order under Section 156(3), Code of the Criminal Procedure, 1973 directing registration of FIR against the appellant-accused for the offences punishable under Sections 323, 294, 500, 504 & 506,…

• Rinku Baheti v. Sandesh Sharda
  2024 INSC 101418 December 2024Disposed of

  Issue arose whether the petitioner-wife is entitled to the transfer of the divorce petition; and whether this Court, upon the application filed by the respondent-husband, can exercise its powers u/Art. 142(1) of the…

• Gurmeet Kaur v. Devender Gupta & Another
  2024 INSC 96726 November 2024Appeal(s) allowed

  Issue arose whether the appellant while discharging her duty as a public servant on the relevant date, there was any excess in the discharge of the said duty which did not require the first respondent to take a prior…

• Shajan Skaria v. The State of Kerala & Anr.
  2024 INSC 62523 August 2024Appeal(s) allowed

  Whether Section 18 of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 imposes an absolute bar on the grant of anticipatory bail in cases registered under the said Act; when can it be said…

• Association for Democratic Reforms & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors.
  2024 INSC 11315 February 2024

  The matter pertains to the constitutional validity of the Electoral Bond Scheme which introduced anonymous financial contributions to political parties; as also the constitutional validity of the provisions of the…

• M/S Iveco Magirus Brandschutztechnik Gmbh v. Nirmal Kishore Bhartiya & Anr
  2023 INSC 8805 October 2023Dismissed

  (i) Whether, while considering a private complaint alleging defamation, the Magistrate before summoning the accused ought to confine himself to the allegations forming par t of the petition only or he may, applying his…

• Kishore Balkrishna Nand v. State of Maharashtra & Anr.
  2023 INSC 6752 August 2023Appeal(s) allowed
• Kaushal Kishor v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors.
  2023 INSC 43 January 2023Reference answered
• B.R.K. Aathithan v. Sun Group & Anr.
  2022 INSC 123629 November 2022Dismissed
• Aroon Purie v. State of NCT of Delhi & Ors.
  2022 INSC 114231 October 2022Disposed of
• Manoj Kumar Tiwari v. Manish Sisodia & Ors
  2022 INSC 110417 October 2022Disposed of
• M N G Bharateesh Reddy v. Ramesh Ranganathan and Another
  2022 INSC 84718 August 2022Appeal(s) allowed
• Pradeep S. Wodeyar v. The State of Karnataka
  2021 INSC 79829 November 2021Dismissed
• State of Tamil Nadu & Anr. v. National South Indian River Interlinking Agriculturist Association
  2021 INSC 77723 November 2021Appeal(s) allowed
• Patricia Mukhim v. State of Meghalaya & Ors.
  2021 INSC 21325 March 2021Appeal(s) allowed
• Arnab Manoranjan Goswami v. The State of Maharashtra & Ors.
  2020 INSC 66527 November 2020Disposed of
• Arnab Ranjan Goswami v. Union of India and Ors.
  2020 INSC 40019 May 2020Disposed of
• Nisha Priya Bhatia v. Union of India & Anr.
  2020 INSC 35524 April 2020Disposed of
• Krishnaveni Rai v. Pankaj Rai & Anr.
  2020 INSC 21119 February 2020Appeal(s) allowed
• Google India Private Limited v. M/S. Visakha Industries
  2019 INSC 135210 December 2019Disposed of
• Satish Ukey v. Devendra Gangadharrao Fadnavis and Anr.
  2019 INSC 11031 October 2019Appeal(s) allowed
• Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecological Societies of India (Fogsi) v. Union of India and Others
  2019 INSC 6203 May 2019Dismissed
• K. K. Mishra v. The State of Madhya Pradesh & Anr.
  2018 INSC 34113 April 2018Appeal(s) allowed
• Asian Resurfacing of Road Agency Pvt. Ltd. & Anr.V. Central Bureau of Investigation v. Central Bureau of Investigation
  2018 INSC 28228 March 2018Directions issued
• Mohammed Abdulla Khan v. Prakash K.
  2017 INSC 11684 December 2017Appeal(s) allowed
• Manohar Lal Sharma v. Sanjay Leela Bhansali & Ors.
  2017 INSC 115628 November 2017Dismissed
• Abhijit Pawar v. Hemant Madhukar Nimbalkar & Anr.
  2016 INSC 121214 December 2016Appeal(s) allowed
• Subramanian Swamy v. Union of India, Ministry of Law & Ors.
  2016 INSC 42713 May 2016Disposed of
• S.R. Sukumar v. S. Sunaad Raghuram
  2015 INSC 4732 July 2015Dismissed
• Devi Das Ramachandra Tuljapurkar v. State of Maharashtra& Ors.
  2015 INSC 41414 May 2015Disposed of
• Rajdeep Sardesai v. State of Andhra Pradesh & Ors.
  2015 INSC 41514 May 2015Dismissed