Today, On 11th March, The Madras High Court issued a stay on the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) move to seize director Shankar’s properties in the Enthiran copyright dispute. The ED took action based on a 2011 complaint by writer Arur Tamilnadan, who claimed that Shankar had copied his story Jiguba for the blockbuster film. Shankar has consistently denied the allegations, stating that Enthiran was his original creation. With the court’s stay order, the legal battle over the film’s copyright continues.
Chennai: The Madras High Court has temporarily stayed the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) actions to provisionally attach properties valued at Rs 10.11 crore belonging to Tamil film director S. Shankar.
This decision is linked to a copyright infringement case associated with the Rajinikanth film Enthiran.
A division bench, consisting of Justices M.S. Ramesh and N. Senthilkumar, issued the interim stay while addressing Shankar’s petitions to set-aside the ED’s attachment order, which was enacted on February 17, 2025, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED’s actions stemmed from a 2011 copyright infringement complaint by writer Arur Tamilnadan, who accused Shankar of copying his story, Jiguba.
The case was filed in a metropolitan magistrate court, citing violations of Section 63 of the Copyright Act and a criminal complaint under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code.
However, the High Court noted that the ED should not have taken such measures, especially since a single judge had previously stayed the proceedings in the scheduled offence in 2023.
The court stated,
“The provisional attachment order is based on the allegations made in the civil suit relating to copyright infringement… When this court had taken cognisance of the fact that the civil suit was dismissed… the respondents ought not to have provisionally attached the properties.”
The bench ruled an interim stay was warranted, directing the ED to submit a counter-affidavit and scheduled the next hearing for April 21.
Senior counsel P.S. Raman, representing Shankar, questioned the ED’s rationale for property attachment based on a private complaint, emphasizing that the agency acted despite a favorable ruling from a single judge.
On the other hand, ED counsel N. Cibi Vishnu argued that the agency had the legal right to act on private complaints and asserted that Shankar was not prejudiced by the provisional attachment, stating,
“He can explore available legal remedies.”
S. Shankar is a famous Indian filmmaker known for making big-budget Tamil movies with amazing visual effects and strong social messages. He started his career as a director with Gentleman (1993) and became popular with hit films like Indian (1996), Mudhalvan (1999), Anniyan (2005), Sivaji (2007), Enthiran (2010), and its sequel 2.0 (2018).
Shankar is known for mixing entertainment with important social topics like corruption, inequality, and the impact of technology. He has worked with top actors like Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, and Vikram. His films are famous for their grand production, colorful song sequences, and advanced special effects, making him one of India’s most successful directors.
Case Title: S Shankar v. The Deputy Director, WP 8352 of 2025