Delhi High Court Issues Notice On Appeal Preferred By Sushant Singh Rajput’s Father Against Refusal To Stay Movie Based On Late Actor's Life

The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notice on an appeal moved by the father of late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput against the single judge order refusing to injunct further telecast of the movie “Nyay: The Justice” based on his son’s life, which was released on OTT platform Lapalap in June 2021.

A division bench of Justice Yashwant Varma and Justice Dharmesh Sharma sought response of the filmmakers and listed the matter for hearing on November 16.

On July 11, the single judge had dismissed the interim injunction application moved by Krishna Kishore Singh in his suit against the producers and director of the film. He alleged that the movie was made without taking the permission of legal representatives of Sushant Singh Rajput.

The single judge had observed hat the publicity and privacy rights are not heritable and died with death of the late actor. 

It added that even assuming that the film infracts the publicity rights of Sushant Singh Rajput or defames him, the “infracted right is personal” to the late actor and cannot be said to have been inherited by his father.

During the hearing yesterday, the counsel representing the father submitted that the film based on late actor’s life would infringe the privacy of the family members, which is impermissible.

On the other hand, the counsel representing the filmmakers contended that the right to privacy cannot be claimed after death of an individual.

It is the father’s case that various movies and web-series were being made and books were being written on his son’s life without due consent of the family members.

According to the father, he has the absolute right to protect the reputation, privacy, and rights of Sushant Singh Rajput as well as the right to protect the reputation, privacy and rights of himself as well as other family members.

The single judge had observed that the law cannot allow itself to be a “vehicle to promote celebrity culture” and that the rights which emanate from one‘s personality would be available to one and all, and not only to celebrities.

“….the impugned movie, being based on information in the public domain, which, at the time of its original dissemination, was never challenged or questioned, cannot be sought to be injuncted at this distance of time, especially when it has already been released on the Lapalap platform a while ago and must have been seen, by now, by thousands. The movie cannot be said to be infracting Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India. Injuncting further dissemination of the movie would, therefore, infract the defendants‘ rights under Article 19(1)(a),” the single judge had said.

Case Title: KRISHNA KISHORE SINGH v. SARLA A SARAOGI & ORS.