Na Mumbai city civil court don order say make nobody publish defamatory matter against actor and filmmaker Sayani Gupta over her short film wey dem call Aasmani. Di order come on Thursday, from Additional Sessions Judge Shudhirkumar Murlidharrao Bukke.
Dis one na interim relief wey court grant for di ₹9 crore defamation suit wey Gupta file against filmmaker Vinita Negi, after Negi claim say key elements from Gupta film na im own original work wey she copy. Negi, wey be Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) alumna, accuse Gupta of plagiarism, copyright infringement and breach of trust, alleging similarities between Aasmani and Negi own unfinished documentary ‘Prabha’. Gupta don deny all di allegations, she say dem false, misleading and no get any substance.
Inside her suit, Gupta bin complain say Negi continue to dey circulate di allegations even as her complaint before di Screenwriters Association still dey pending. She say di matter don later blow up through media reports and social media, wey don cause serious professional harm. Her film wey dem don select for screening for Indian Film Festival of New Zealand bin don withdraw from festival because of dis wahala.
Di court, for di interim order, allow Gupta application and bar Negi and di other defendants from publishing, circulating or continuing to publish defamatory material against her. Di order also include say make dem remove any defamatory content from platforms like Meta, Reddit, and Deccan Chronicle.
But di court no stop there. E make clear say di order no mean say person no fit publish true facts. Di judge say Negi still get every right to take legal action against Gupta and she free to publish anything wey base on true facts. Di prayer wey Gupta make for blanket order wey go stop di defendants from publishing accurate and verified information based on official record, investigation, or judicial proceeding na im di court reject.
Gupta don also ask for public retraction and apology from Negi, and she want di court to appoint receiver to take possession of any copies or devices wey get di defamatory material. Di matter go come up again on October 12 for further hearing.
For di legal side, advocate Monil Punjabi, along with advocates Priyanka Sinha, Bhavya Shah and Mujtaba Ambekar appear for Gupta. For Negi, advocates Sayali Shinde and Laxmi Jenkins dey represent her.
