Justice R Subbaiah, before whom the petition filed by Premlatha, Sudheesh and others came up for hearing, exempted them from appearing in person before the Principle Sessions Judge.
On February 1, 2013, the 'Captain TV' channel newsreader Semmalar read out a version during a news bulletin, which was allegedly defamatory against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
City Public Prosecutor M L Jegan had filed a criminal defamation case against Premlatha, Sudheer and others, who were the owners of the channel.