Whether accused can be held guilty for an offence of defamation under S 499 of IPC if he had no intention to cause damage or defame?

[Educator]

Under Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), an individual can only be held guilty of defamation if they had the intention to cause damage or defame another person. The key elements that constitute the offense of defamation include making a false statement about someone, which is published with the intent to harm that person's reputation or with knowledge that it is likely to cause