Does this amounts to blackmailing and defamation

Knowledge Gainer (Querist) 13 February 2012 This query is : Resolved
There are two apex trust of a particular community who are doing social work for welfare of community’s members like scholarship, medical aid, interest free housing loan, interest free higher education loan etc. These trusts have common body who publishes daily news paper meant only for community’s members. This common body is also doing work of family settlement like marriage dispute, property dispute etc.

Now suppose a couple has marriage dispute and their divorce case is going on in the court. Now anyone from this couple has applied to the said common body for settlement. But other spouse is not want to settle the case in the said common body. The common body tries to call them to attend meeting and settle the issue. It may happen that the other spouse attends the meeting but does not agree for settlement. In this case the common body does not pressure him/her to go for settlement.
Now in 10-02-2012’s daily news paper this body has advertise that if the other spouse who ignore us or our call, than his/her name will be displayed in the said daily news paper’s future issues so that whole society will come to know about this and their matter and thereafter it will be too late for them.

I would like to know that such an advertising by the common body and respective responsible trustees amount to blackmailing? Publishing names of any ignoring spouse in the daily news paper’s future issues amounts to defamation or not? Other spouse is at his/her liberty to go or not? If he/she don’t go than they close the file.

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ajay sethi (Expert) 13 February 2012
no blackmailing . they are making genuine attempt to resolve matrimonal disputes among members of your community . you are free to reject settlement offer .
does not amount to defamation .
they are not in ay manner ruining your spotless reputation

Knowledge Gainer (Querist) 13 February 2012
Dear Sir,

Thanks for Reply.

But the matter which is known to my family members and now to common body, by giving it in daily new paper they are exposing us before community. This is defamation. On what ground they can do so? They are calling for settlement, I am not interested in the same. Even Hon'ble courts will not do so. They will pass ex-pate order. The body is a trust only. It is not any legally framed body that is functioning under any court's jurisdiction? We come for settlement they are blackmailing us that we will give in daily news paper, so that we go for settlement.

Sudhir Kumar, Advocate (Expert) 13 February 2012
AS long as assertion is not false the defamation charge is not there. If you are having discord with wife and it it is a true fact then its publication may not be defamation.

Yes it is image tarnishing as you said. But it is not defamation as described by Mr Sethi.

RadhikaReddy (Expert) 13 February 2012
Yes...not only defamation.. but also extortion, violation of right to personal liberty,violation of human rights