Defamation in India is both a crime and a civil wrong, and you can pursue either or both. They achieve different things.
Criminal defamation
Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which carries forward Section 499 and 500 IPC. Making or publishing any imputation concerning a person, intending to harm or knowing it will harm their reputation, is an offence punishable with simple imprisonment up to two years, or fine, or both. It is non-cognizable and bailable, and it is initiated by a private complaint before the Magistrate, not by an FIR.
The section carries a set of exceptions, and they are broad: truth published for the public good, fair comment on the conduct of a public servant or on a public question, publication of court proceedings, and expression of opinion in good faith about a person's conduct in a matter touching a public question.
Civil defamation
A tort. You sue for damages and, more usefully, for an injunction to restrain further publication and to take down what is already out. There is no statute; it is common law, and the elements are a defamatory statement, referring to the plaintiff, published to a third party, without lawful justification.
| Criminal | Civil | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | Conviction, fine, imprisonment | Damages and injunction |
| Standard of proof | Beyond reasonable doubt | Preponderance of probabilities |
| How it starts | Private complaint to Magistrate | Suit in civil court |
| Court fee | Nominal | Ad valorem on damages claimed |
In civil defamation, truth alone defeats the claim. In criminal defamation, truth is a defence only if the publication was also for the public good. That is a meaningful difference and it is why criminal complaints sometimes survive where a civil suit would not.
What I usually suggest
Start with a cease and desist notice and platform takedown requests. Most defamation resolves there. If you go to court, a civil suit with an application for an interim injunction is generally more useful, because what you actually want is for the material to come down. Criminal complaints are slow and are increasingly viewed critically where they look like an attempt to silence criticism.