Court restrains actor-critic KRK from posting defamatory content against producer Vashu Bhagnani

Mumbai, Dec 19 (PTI) A court here has temporarily restrained actor and film critic Kamal Rashid Khan from publishing defamatory content against film producer Vashu Bhagnani, saying he has "no absolute right" to damage the latter's reputation under the guise of movie review in public domain.

The judge underscored that "right to speech of one person should not cause breach of the right of privacy and public image of another person". There are certain self-restrictions and the defendant ought to have followed it impeccably, the court said.

Bhagnani had sought legal action against Khan for allegedly running a "well-orchestrated smear campaign" in early 2021 by posting a series of "grossly defamatory, slanderous, and distasteful" tweets and videos.

Bhagnani as interim injunctions-until his main defamation suit against Khan was decided- had sought directions prohibiting Khan from publishing any further defamatory comments and an unconditional apology.

In an order passed earlier this month, civil judge Amit A Laulkar asked Khan to delete or withdraw the "offending allegations" mentioned in the legal motion.

However, it denied the prayer for an unconditional apology, stating that such a mandate requires detailed evidence typically handled at the final trial stage.

Bhagnani, in his plea, claimed he was "pained and perturbed" after realizing that Khan had "initiated a well-orchestrated smear campaign against him without any due cause whatsoever".

The defendant is even otherwise known to make defamatory and slanderous comments against "soft targets" of the Indian film industry in an extremely cheap attempt to gain mileage and publicity, Bhagnani said.

The producer claimed Khan's conduct was evident from a series of "tweets" on the social network 'Twitter' that made grossly defamatory, slanderous, distasteful and patently false allegations against the plaintiff (Bhagnani).

Khan, in his response, argued that the motion was "frivolous" and based on "distorted facts". He maintained that as a film critic, it is his job to review films and discuss industry trade.

Khan justified his conduct under the mantle of freedom of speech, asserting he had not said anything personal about the producer.

The judge, after hearing both sides, asserted that courts "must balance the fundamental right to reputation with the right to freedom of speech and expression".

He pointed out that a delicate and balanced approach was needed to "ensure that right against reputational damage, right to privacy and right to freedom of speech and expression can go hand in hand and not at the cost of each other".

The court found that, prima facie, tweets and statements made by the defendant (Khan) are somehow affecting the right of privacy of the plaintiff (Bhagnani).

"The goodwill and reputation of the plaintiff is at stake and the defendant has no absolute right to damage the same by expressing his personal opinions in the public domain under the guise of review," the court said.

"Certainly, there is every reason to regulate such an act till the final adjudication of the suit," the court said.

It then partly allowed the motion for temporary relief, saying that if the alleged tweets, videos and other statements are not curbed, "it will cause grave loss, mental agony to the plaintiff". PTI AVI BNM