The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notice in an application filed by the producer of Kala Hiran: Battle for Legacy, seeking rejection of Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s suit seeking a stay on the film’s release, on the ground that the court lacks territorial jurisdiction.
What’s the latest in the case?
A bench of Justice Tejas Karia sought Salman Khan’s response to producer Amit Jani’s application and listed the matter for further hearing on December 16.
This was after Jani’s lawyer argued that neither Khan nor his client resided or carried on business within high court’s territorial jurisdiction, since Khan resides in Mumbai, while Jani in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
He submitted that the mere availability of the film’s teasers, posters and other promotional material across the country, including Delhi, was insufficient to confer territorial jurisdiction on the court.
The application further stated that the plaint does not allege that the film or its promotional material specifically targeted audiences in Delhi or that Khan suffered any distinct injury within the national capital.
In his suit, Salman painted a picture that the producer had repeatedly and publicly admitted by the producer, that the film is based on him and the criminal proceedings arising from the blackbuck incident in October 1998 and even the impugned promotional material unmistakably portrayed him, through his name, likeness, mannerisms, distinctive personal attributes, iconic films and widely publicised events associated with him.
It added that staging a dramatised trial when he had been acquitted in three of the four cases arising from the incident and during the pendency of his appeals and special leave petitions before the Rajasthan high court and the Supreme Court, infringed his fundamental right to fair trial.
The suit further stated that the teasers and promotional material expressly, as well as by innuendo, convey that he is guilty of offences that are still sub judice.