When defamatory material was posted on internet/facebook

Delhi High Court: Deciding a defamation case where the defamatory material was posted on Internet/Facebook, the Court, while relying on various Foreign Court judgments, held that the “Single Publication Rule” will apply where the original publication is in print and the re-publication is on the internet. The Court observed that the rule states that the publication of a book, periodical or newspaper containing defamatory material gives rise to only one cause of action for defamation, which implies, that the limitation period starts to run at the time the first publication is made, even if copies continue to be sold several years later. Hence the cause of action against the person for defamation in respect of the subsequent publication is to be treated as having accrued on the date of the first publication.