Bombay High Court Refuses To Direct Netflix To Take Down 'Scoop' Web Series, Allows Chhota Rajan To Amend Suit

The Bombay High Court today refused to direct OTT platform Netflix to taken down 'Scoop' series based on an intellectual property suit by gangster Chhota Rajan.

Justice Shivkumar Dige said now that the series has been released, the court will see on the next date.

The court allowed Chhota Rajan to amend his suit to show how it is a matter of intellectual property rights and posted the matter on Wednesday for further consideration.

While Rajan's plea was specifically to stall the release, the series went live on Netflix today.

Senior advocate Mihir Desai for Rajan argued that Rajan has copyright on his image. "Can you show me as guilty to the whole world in this manner? There are celebrity rights as well. A celebrity is not just a Bollywood celebrity, it can also be a person famous in another manner. Lakhs of people will be watching it. It would affect my appeal," Desai argued.

Senior advocate Ravi Kadam for OTT platform Netflix and Advocate Hiren Kamod submitted that the suit is not maintainable. They asked the plaintiff to watch the series first and sought time to file a reply.

The court granted the plaintiff leave to amend and the defendants time to put in their reply, and stood over the matter to Wednesday. 

Currently lodged in Tihar Jail, Rajan was convicted along with 9 others for the death of crime reporter Jyotirmay Dey, who was shot in 2011. Jigna Vora, a journalist and Rajan’s co-accused, was acquitted. The Netflix series is inspired by Vora’s memoir ‘Behind Bars in Byculla: My Days in Prison’.

According to Rajan's plaint, the trailer of the series makes various references to his name, image, and purported voice and portrays him as the main conspirator behind Dey’s death. Rajan has claimed in the plaint that the contents of the trailer are false, misleading, and deceptive and the makers intended to create sensation and obtain profits by using his name and image.

Rajan has sought an injunction to remove the trailer from Netflix and any other platform and restrain the defendants from exploiting his name, image, and personality or make any reference to him and to restrain the defendants from publishing the web-series and its trailers on Netflix, theatre, or on any other platform. He has also sought Re. 1/- as damages and an unconditional apology published in a major newspaper clarifying that the makers used his image, personality, and reputation without any verification and his consent.

Case Title - Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje Alias Chhota Rajan v. Matchbox Shots LLP and Ors.