The Delhi High Court has declined to impose a ban on the online streaming of the film “Nyay: The Justice,” which is based on the life of the late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Justice C Hari Shankar dismissed an application filed by Krishna Kishore Singh, the father of Sushant Singh Rajput, who alleged that the movie contained defamatory statements and violated the late actor’s personality rights.
The application was part of a lawsuit filed by Sushant Singh Rajput’s father against the filmmakers for producing the movie without his consent. However, Justice Shankar ruled that no case for interim relief was established, as the rights associated with privacy, publicity, and personality do not survive the death of an individual.
“The rights ventilated in the plaint… are not heritable. They died with the death of SSR. The said rights, therefore, did not survive for espousal by the prosecutor,” stated the court’s order dated July 11. The court concluded that the movie was a faithful retelling of Sushant Singh Rajput’s life and circumstances leading up to his untimely demise, despite the filmmakers’ claim that it was a generalized account inspired by public domain material.
The court noted that the film included information derived from publicly available sources and media reports, which had not been challenged or questioned at the time of their dissemination. Therefore, the court reasoned that the movie did not infringe upon any rights of the deceased actor. Additionally, it emphasized that restraining the film’s further dissemination would infringe upon the defendants’ freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution.
Furthermore, the court rejected the prosecutor’s argument that the telecast of the film would prejudice the fair and impartial trial of the circumstances surrounding Sushant Singh Rajput’s death.
Sushant Singh Rajput, aged 34, was found dead in his Mumbai apartment in suburban Bandra on June 14, 2020. Despite the ongoing legal battles and controversies surrounding his tragic demise, the court’s decision allows the film “Nyay: The Justice” to continue its online streaming without any restrictions.
Sources By Agencies
