Question:medium

Defamation is:

Updated On: Jul 13, 2026
  • Both a tort and crime
  • Tort only
  • Crime only
  • Neither a tort nor a crime
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The Correct Option is A

Solution and Explanation

Whenever a question asks whether a wrong is civil, criminal, or both, the quickest check is to ask whether there is a Penal Code section punishing it, and separately, whether a victim can also sue for damages. Defamation passes both checks.

  1. Both a tort and crime: Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code makes defamatory statements, spoken or written, a punishable offence, while the law of torts, independently of the criminal law, lets the defamed person claim damages in a civil suit. Since both routes exist side by side for the same conduct, defamation qualifies as both.
  2. Tort only: this would be accurate only if there were no criminal liability attached, but Sections 499 and 500 of the Penal Code plainly criminalise defamation, so limiting it to a tort leaves out half the picture.
  3. Crime only: this would be accurate only if a victim had no separate civil remedy, but a suit for damages to reputation is a well recognised tort claim, entirely apart from any criminal case, so this option also leaves out half the picture.
  4. Neither a tort nor a crime: this fails both checks at once, since defamation is expressly punishable under the Penal Code and is also independently actionable in tort.

Running defamation through both the criminal law check and the civil law check confirms it clears both, so it belongs in both categories at the same time.

The correct answer is Both a tort and crime.

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