Gangubai Kathiawadi: Bombay High Court dismisses plea by residents of Kamathipura against portrayal of entire area as red-light hub
The residents of Kamathipura, on February 22, 2022 filed a plea before the Bombay High Court seeking to remove the references to the Kamathipura area in the movie, Gangubai Kathiawadi. The said plea mentioned that because of the references made in the trailer of the film, the reputation of the area has deteriorated as the movie makes derogatory and wild allegations by portraying the area as a red-light hub.
On February 23, 2022, the Bombay High Court dismissed the petition seeking to remove the references to the Kamathipura area in the movie, Gangubai Kathiawadi.
Gangubai Kathiawadi: Supreme Court dismisses plea seeking injunction filed by person claiming to be adopted son of Gangubai
A Bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and JK Maheshwari was considering an appeal filed against the order of the Bombay High Court that continued the stay on summons issued by a Mumbai court in a criminal defamation complaint against the producers of Gangubai Kathiawadi, actress Alia Bhatt, and authors S Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges, who wrote the book on which the film is based.
The bench has held that “the film certificate issued by the CBFC prima facie shows that the film is not defamatory. Prima facie, it appears that the movie is an artistic expression within the parameters of law”.
Read order here.
Telangana High Court sets aside injunction order against Alt Balaji’s show “Lock Upp”
Telangana High Court vide its order dated 26th February, 2022 set aside an injunction order passed by City Civil Court in a copyright infringement case filed by Pride Media.
In the suit filed by Pride Media proprietary Firm represented by its proprietor Abdul Haleem Baig, the Plaintiff claimed that he came up with the story by name the ‘The Jail ‘ and prepared script with 22 celebrities. The concept story is the reality show for 100 days and the story was registered in “Screen Writers’ Association.” They could not produce the same due to lock down and COVID -19 when they were gearing up to mobilize production, they came to know about the Defendant’s show which they alleged to be infringing their copyright. An ad interim ex parte injunction was passed by City Civil Court on 23.02.2022. In the appeal filed by Alt Balaji, the Telangana High Court found balance of convenience in favour of the Appellant i.e., Alt Balaji on account of delay of the plaintiff in approaching the court and huge amounts being spent by Alt Balaji on the show which was scheduled to release on 27.02.2022. Accordingly the High Court set aside the injunction order passed by the trial court.
Telangana Court directs The Wire to take down 14 articles against COVAXIN and Bharat Biotech
A Court in Telangana directed the news portal, The Wire to take down fourteen articles against COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer, Bharat Biotech International Limited which were published on its website in a Rs. 100 crore defamation suit. The Court further restrained The Wire to publish any defamatory articles on the vaccine manufacturer and its vaccine, COVAXIN.
Delhi High Court directs Twitter to take down tweets made by historian Audrey Truschke
The Delhi High Court on February 24, 2022 directed Twitter to take down tweets made by historian Audrey Truschke in relation to allegations of plagiarism by historian Vikram Sampath in connection to his works on Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The Delhi High Court further said that these tweets should be taken down within 48 hours.
The Delhi High Court passed the aforementioned directions in relation to a plea filed by Mr. Sampath which sought that the tweets made by Mr. Truschke be removed from Twitter as they were defamatory.
Kerala High Court rules that the admin of Whatsapp Group shall not be vicariously liable for objectionable post by group members
The Kerala High Court on February 24, 2022 observed that the admin of the Whatsapp group cannot be held vicariously liable if an objectionable content has been posted in the group by any of its member. The Court said
“A vicarious criminal liability can be fastened only by reason of a provision of a statute and not otherwise. In the absence of a special penal law creating vicarious liability, an Admin of a WhatsApp group cannot be held liable for the objectionable post by a group member.”
Read Order here.
Bombay High Court denies relief from arrest to Director Mahesh Manjrekar in obscenity case
Mr. Mahesh Manjrekar, director of the film ‘Nay Varan Bhat Loncha Kon Nay Koncha’, filed a petition on February 25, 2022 to quash an FIR filed against him by the Mumbai Police under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The said FIR was filed as the film allegedly contains sexually explicit content which involved minors.
The Bombay High Court refused to pass any order in the said petition and adhourned the hearing in the petition to February 28. By doing so, the Court refused to grant any protection to Mr. Manjrekar from arrest or any coercive action.
Super Cassettes Industries moves Delhi High Court for seeking injunction against Tata Motors over alleged infringement of Trademark
Super Cassettes Industries Pvt. Ltd. on February 25, 2022 filed a suit before the Delhi High Court against Tata Motors Private Limited. The said suit sought permanent injunction against Tata Motors from using the registered trademarks of Super Cassettes Industries, namely, “Ultra T.Series” or “Ultra Sleek T-Series Range”.
ASCI frames guidelines for advertising and promotion of virtual digital assets and services
On 23rd February, 2022, the Advertising Standards Council of India (“ASCI”) has issued guidelines for the advertisements of virtual digital assets and services. These guidelines shall be applicable to all advertisements released or published on or after 1st April, 2022. The advertisers shall have to ensure that even the earlier advertisements comply with these regulations post 15th April, 2022. Read the guidelines here .
Read our detailed post here.
