Following Chakravarti, a defendant in a defamation action in South Australia may only plead and seek to justify alternative meanings that the plaintiff could rely on to obtain judgment even though not pleaded — that is, meanings which are less injurious or represent merely a variant or different nuance from the meanings pleaded. The Polly Peck 'common sting' defence is limited accordingly. Particulars of justification must be reasonably capable of supporting the plea they particularise; where imputations are limited to conduct 'in relation to murder trials', particulars relating to non-murder-trial cases will be struck out.
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