In a recent ruling, the Delhi High Court declined to issue an injunction against the streaming of ‘Nyay: The Justice’, a film based on the life of the late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. The court, presided over by Justice C Hari Shankar, stated that Rajput’s personality rights, along with his rights to privacy and publicity, were extinguished upon his death and could not be inherited by his father, Krishna Kishore Singh.
The court’s decision came in response to a plea by Rajput’s father seeking to halt the continued streaming of the film on the Over-The-Top (OTT) platform, Lapalap Original. The film was initially released in June 2021.
Justice Hari Shankar noted that the information contained in the film was derived from publicly available sources and had not been challenged when it first appeared in the media. He stated,
“In making a film on the basis thereof, it could not, therefore, be said that the defendants had violated any right of SSR, much less of the plaintiff, especially as the said information had not been questioned or challenged when it appeared in the media, either by SSR or by the plaintiff.”
The court further observed that even if the film infringed upon Rajput’s publicity rights or defamed him, these rights were personal to the actor and could not be inherited by his father. The court also noted that the film, based on public domain information, could not be injuncted at this point, especially since it had already been released and viewed by thousands.
Justice Hari Shankar concluded that the court could not order a halt to the streaming of the film, as it would infringe upon the defendants’ rights under Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution.
In a detailed order, the court also addressed the issue of ‘celebrity rights‘, as claimed by Rajput’s father. Justice Hari Shankar disagreed with the decisions of other High Courts recognizing this concept, stating that the law cannot promote celebrity culture and that rights emanating from one’s personality should be available to all, not just celebrities.
The plaintiff, Krishna Kishore Singh, was represented by advocates Varun Singh, Akshay Dev, Ytharth Kumar, Alankriti Diwedi, Parul Sharma, Atif, Himanshu Yadav, Kajal Gupta, and Smriti Wadhwa. The producers and directors of the film were represented by Senior Advocate Chander M Lall and advocates Bhushan M Oza, Anand Mishra, Vedanta Verma, Akhil Kumar, and Ananya. Advocate Vibhor Kush represented the writer of the movie.