Supreme Court Stays Defamation Trial Against Ex-Kerala Minister TM Thomas Issac Over 'Lottery Mafia' Remark Against Santiago Martin

The Supreme Court today stayed further proceedings in the defamation case filed against former Kerala Finance Minister TM Thomas Issac for calling 'lottery king' Santiago Martin a "lottery mafia" during a press statement.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta passed the order, staying trial pending against Thomas Issac before a Judicial Magistrate in Sikkim. The bench also issued notice on the petition to Santiago Martin.

Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta appeared for Thomas Issac.

To recap, after a GST Council meeting in 2019, Thomas Issac reportedly stated to the press that "lottery mafia like Santiago Martin will not be allowed to operate in Kerala". Aggrieved by the same, Martin filed a complaint in 2020 under Sections 499, 500, 501, 502 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code.

Allegations were also levelled against Malayalam newspaper Mathrubhumi and its management over publication of an article on Thomas Issac's statement. The newspaper and its management moved the Sikkim High Court, contending that editors could not be proceeded against without the complainant having made out a prima facie case that they had at least personal knowledge about the contents of the item before it was published.

However, the High Court refused to quash the summons issued by the Gangtok Magistrate against the managing editor, the managing director and other senior officials of Mathrubhumi. In appeal filed by the newspaper, the Supreme Court expressed displeasure over usage of the word 'mafia' by the newspaper. The case was closed in December, 2022, after the newspaper agreed to issue a public statement. It was however clarified that the case between Martin and Thomas Issac would not be impacted by the order.

Case Title: T.M THOMAS ISSAC Versus SANTIAGO MARTIN, SLP(Crl) No. 15095/2025 

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