New Delhi: The Supreme Court while staying the defamation proceedings against DMDK leader and actor Vijayakanth, on Monday decided to examine the constitutional validity of Indian Penal Code provisions on criminal defamation, which infringed on the freedom of speech and expression.

In his petition, Vijaykanth alleged that criminal defamation provisions in Section 499 and 500 of IPC went much beyond the reasonable restrictions on right to free speech. He also challenged the validity of Section 199(2) of the CrPC (which deals with a special remedy in regard to criminal defamation of a public servant.