The court of Judicial Magistrate First Class Satvir Kaur has acquitted six persons, including former Akali MLA from Samrala, Samrala Municipal Council president, vice-president and former councillors, in a defamation complaint filed by police officer Gurmukh Singh, holding that the allegations against them were not proved beyond reasonable doubt.The accused — Jagjiwan Singh Khirnia (former Akali MLA, Samrala), Mangat Rai alias Lala (MC president, Samrala), Dr Sikander Singh (MC vice-president), Satvir Singh Sekhon (former councillor), Avtar Singh (former MC, Ward No. 2) and Avtar Singh (Ward No. 5) — were facing trial on allegations that they had levelled false accusations against the complainant through complaints submitted to police authorities and thereby lowered his reputation.The complainant, Gurmukh Singh, a policeman, had alleged that former councillor Satvir Sekhon had submitted a complaint to the Commissioner of Police, Ludhiana, alleging that he was associated with criminals and was sheltering persons involved in criminal and drug-related cases by misusing his influence while working in the crime branch.The complainant alleged that another accused had also submitted a complaint alleging that he had links with senior police officials and had threatened the accused and his family members. He claimed that the complaints were false and defamatory and were intended to jeopardise his government service and damage his reputation.The complainant examined himself and three other witnesses during the proceedings and produced several documents, including copies of complaints submitted to police authorities and inquiry reports.The defence, however, argued that the complaints had been made in good faith before lawful authorities and were therefore protected under the eighth exception to Section 499 of the IPC.The court noted that the inquiry reports relating to the complaints did not record that they had been falsely filed with the intention of defaming the complainant. Rather, the reports stated that no convincing evidence or witness had been produced and that the complaints appeared to have arisen out of inimical relations between the parties.The court further observed that the complainant himself had admitted during cross-examination that the inquiry findings did not state that the applications were false, although he maintained that no truth was found in them.Relying on the eighth exception to Section 499 of the IPC, the court held that an accusation made in good faith to a person having lawful authority over the subject matter cannot be treated as defamation.The court also found substance in the defence contention regarding lack of territorial jurisdiction of Ludhiana, observing that the complainant and the accused were permanent residents of Samrala, the alleged occurrence related to Samrala, but instead of filing before the Samrala court, the complaint was filed at Ludhiana.Holding that the prosecution had failed to establish the offence beyond reasonable doubt, the court dismissed the complaint and acquitted all six accused.