Bengaluru : In an ex-parte order, a city civil court has restrained a Kolkata-based journalist and five other defendants from publishing a ‘controversial’ book against the family of late singer Manna Dey, until the next hearing.
“Having gone through the contents of the plaint, and the documents, including the extracts of infringed book, I am of the view at this stage that there is an emergent situation and the very purpose of the suit will be defeated by delay.”
“Therefore, in order to avoid multiplicity of proceedings, I proceed to pass the order,” Additional City Civil and Session Judge S K Vantigodi said in the order passed on February 13.
The petitioners – Shumita Deb, daughter of Manna Dey and her husband Jnan Ranjan Deb – had filed the petition before the court on February 6, seeking the book be restrained.
In their petition, Deb alleged that Gautam Bhattacharya had written “malicious and defamatory contents” in an article published on October 28, 2013 and a book titled “Taradar Sesh Chitthi” (Star’s Last Letter).
Deb told PTI the book and a series of articles written by Bhattacharya had maligned his and his wife’s image, as the writer holds them in poor light by claiming they did not take care of Manna Dey, when he stayed with them in Bengaluru.
Deb also alleged that Bhattacharya tried to incite the people of West Bengal against the family. —PTI