Bombay HC grants relief to Sanjay Bhansali, Alia Bhatt – Hindustan Times

The Bombay high court recently granted an interim stay on the criminal defamation proceedings against producers of the film Gangubai Kathiawadi and actor Alia Bhatt.

The film is based on a book on the women who were part of the Mumbai mafia and the underworld. In another petition filed by the alleged adopted son of Kathiawadi, HC refused to grant a stay on the release of the film. The son had sought the stay claiming that it would defame his late mother’s reputation.

However, HC’s decision was taken after it was informed that there was nothing on record to prove the claim that he is the adopted son.

The single judge bench of justice Revati Mohite-Dere, while hearing the criminal application by Bhansali Productions Pvt Ltd, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Bhatt, was informed that the application challenged the summons issued to them on March 15 by the Mazgaon magistrate court in a defamation complaint filed by Babuji Rawji Shah against them.

Senior advocate Aabad Ponda for Bhansali Productions, was making submissions submitted that the film Gangubai was based on a book authored by Jane Borges and Hussain Zaidi, which was published in 2011. He added that the film was based on a part of the book and they were not aware of Shah’s existence.

Ponda also informed the bench that a civil court had dismissed a suit filed by Shah, wherein he had sought a permanent injunction against the authors of the book from publishing, selling or creating any third party rights in relation to the book. Ponda added that as Shah had failed to furnish details of the same to the magistrate in his criminal complaint, the summons issued to his client should be set aside.

After hearing the submissions, the bench issued a notice to Shah and stayed the proceedings before the trial court till the next hearing of the application on September 7.

Meanwhile on July 30, the single judge bench of justice Nitin Sambre, while hearing an appeal filed by Shah – wherein he challenged the dismissal of his suit – had refused to restrain the authors from publishing, selling or creating third-party rights on their book.

Advocate Narendra Dubey for Shah had also sought an interim order from HC, seeking temporary injunction of restraining the makers of the movie from releasing the film.

However, advocate Mayur Khandeparkar for the producers had submitted that the civil court had rightly held that a suit at the behest of the legal heir of the person alleged to be defamed was not maintainable. He added that as Shah was not able to demonstrate or get a declaration to prove that he was the adoptive son of Kathiawadi, he did not have legal rights and therefore, the prayer for injunction was liable to be rejected.

While disposing of the appeal, justice Sambre held, “In a case of claim for defamation, action can be brought by a person in court of law provided he claimed to be defamed. Merely because the appellant is claiming to be son of such person cannot be prima facie inferred to have the legal right to show indulgence. Temporary injunction as prayed cannot be granted and as such prayers stand rejected.”