Bombay HC Grants Interim Relief To Aditya Dhar In Dhurandhar Row, Restrains Filmmaker Santosh Kumar From Repeating Plagiarism Allegations

Mumbai, April 8: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday passed an interim order restraining filmmaker Santosh Kumar RS from repeating allegations that the script of the Hindi film Dhurandhar was copied by its writer-director Aditya Dhar.

Court grants interim protection

Justice Arif Doctor granted limited ad-interim relief in a defamation suit filed by Dhar, observing that a prima facie case had been made out. The court directed that, until the next date of hearing, Kumar shall refrain from repeating the statements and allegations set out in the suit, as well as any similar remarks.

“Until the next date, the defendant shall be restrained from repeating words set out in the suit and all other words of a similar nature,” the court ordered, while issuing notice to Kumar. The matter has been kept for further hearing on April 16.

Notice served, no representation

The HC also noted that Kumar had been served with notice of the proceedings but was not represented during the hearing.

Allegations and dispute background

Dhar approached the High Court alleging that Kumar had made defamatory statements accusing him of plagiarising a script. The dispute arises from comments made by Kumar at a press conference held shortly after the release of Dhurandhar: The Revenge, the second instalment in the film series starring Ranveer Singh.

According to the suit, Kumar claimed that the film’s script was copied from his own registered work titled ‘D Saheb’. Dhar has denied the allegations, maintaining that they are baseless and have caused serious harm to his professional reputation.

Legal notice and proceedings

Prior to filing the suit, Dhar had issued a legal notice to Kumar, refuting the plagiarism claims and cautioning him against making further statements. However, Kumar did not respond to the notice, prompting Dhar to initiate legal proceedings.

Arguments in court

Senior advocate Birendra Saraf, appearing for Dhar, argued that Kumar’s repeated accusations had been widely circulated and were causing irreparable damage to the filmmaker’s reputation.

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Court observations and next steps

Taking note of the submissions, the HC held that Dhar had established grounds for interim protection at this stage. It emphasised that the relief granted is limited in nature and will remain in force until the next hearing.

Dhar’s suit seeks a permanent injunction restraining Kumar from making such statements, along with damages for alleged defamation.

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