Constitutional criticism is valid but not on personal life

We often sit and talk about the work of the government and often criticize it. We even retweet or share something which genuinely talks about the loopholes of the government. So, does it amount to defamation or let’s take another example, you are alumni of any college and didn’t recommend anyone to study in the college due to many reasons. So, is it defamation? Obviously not. When you are criticising someone for their work then it amounts to constructive criticism and constructive criticism is valid but when you start criticising someone for what they are in personal life or try to spread fake rumours then it shall be punishable.

For instance – You can criticise the BJP government for their work which you don’t like but when you start targeting any member and talk about their personal life or spread rumours or say something defamatory then you shall be punished for the same.

Now, let’s understand what amounts to defamation and why constructive criticism doesn’t amount to defamation while criticism of someone’s personal life is defamation?

In defamation, one says or publishes a statement about the plaintiff which can degrade the reputation of the person. So, when you are criticizing the work not done by the person isn’t degrading his reputation because it is the reality but no one gets the right to criticize him regarding his personal life because the person has the right to privacy. So, you can’t infringe it and not even expect to get punishment for the same.