Adipurush row: Court allows arguments on maintainability of suit at pre-summons stage

On Monday, a Delhi Court allowed the arguments to proceed on maintainability of the plea seeking an injunction against the upcoming movie Adipurush, in the eye of a storm over the appearance of its characters, at the pre-summons stage.

New Delhi:A Delhi court on Monday allowed the arguments to proceed on maintainability of the plea seeking injunction against upcoming movie Adipurush, in the eye of a storm over the appearance of its characters, at the pre-summons stage. The court was hearing a plea filed by Advocate Raj Gaurav seeking permanent and mandatory injunction against defendants Bhushan Kumar, the producer, and Om Raut, director and co-producer, alleging they had depicted Hindu gods in an unwarranted and inaccurate way in the promotional video.

Defendant no. 1 (Bhushan Kumar) is given the opportunity to address the arguments on the maintainability of the suit at the pre-summons stage, Senior Civil Judge Abhishek Kumar said. The judge posted the matter for further proceedings on November 5. The court noted the counsel for Bhushan Kumar had appeared before it at the pre-summons stage and sought permission to argue on the maintainability of the suit.

Addressing the question of whether the defendant could be allowed to argue before the court when the summons was not issued, the court said turning a blind eye to the counsel's presence will be a travesty of justice". The court said the defendant was entitled to protect his rights even before the summons was issued.

In the instant case, the defendant has gained knowledge about the proceedings through print media and appeared before the court to make submissions as per law, the court said, adding Therefore the defendant was within his rights to approach and assist the court regarding the maintainability of the suit.

Claiming the sentiments of Hindus were hurt due to the "unwarranted and inaccurate" depiction of Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman in the promotional video, the plea sought an ad interim stay on the release of the film in its present form along with a permanent injunction restraining the defendants from depicting Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman as shown in the promotional video.

It also sought directions mandating the defendants to remove the teaser of the movie from all social media platforms. The film has received a lot of negative publicity before the release, with Hindu outfits objecting to the leather apparel worn by Lord Hanuman and the appearance of Ravan, played by Saif Ali Khan, which has drawn comparisons with Muslim invader Alauddin Khilji. (PTI)