346 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
orally or in writing, about any person shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than ten years and may, in the discretion of the court, be fined not more than five thousand dollars”. I want him to compare the punishing clause of our law with the punishing clause of this law.
Shri Naziruddin Ahmad: I raised a different question.
Dr. Ambedkar: Let me read it again.
Mr. Chairman: Order, order ; I do not think that too many interruptions help the debate.
Dr. Ambedkar: I do not mind replying if I can understand what they ask.
Shri Naziruddin Ahmad: I raised a different question altogether. My question was whether our law of defamation does not protect foreign States also.
Dr. Ambedkar: It does not.
Shri Naziruddin Ahmad: I think it does.
Dr. Ambedkar: No, it applies only when one person defames another. That is the point. Then the second clause in that law is about “wrongful assumption of character of a diplomatic or consuler officer”. That also is made punishable under the law relating to foreign relations. One more important clause is about “conspiracy to injure property of a foreign Government”. There again the punishment is imprisonment of not more than three years or fine of not more than five thousand dollars or both. Therefore, our law is a very mild one.
Shri Kamath : If all untrue statements are tabooed it will put an end to all diplomacy.
Dr. Ambedkar : We are talking of citizens doing harm to the Government of the foreign State.
Shri Kamath: Not Government-to-Government.
Dr. Ambedkar: With the explanation that I have given so far, Members of the House, I think will agree that there is a necessity for amending article 19 in the way in which sub-clause (1) of clause 3 of the Bill makes provision for it.