Chhota Rajan moves Bombay HC seeking stay on web series’ release
Gangster Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje, popularly known as Chhota Rajan, has approached the Bombay high court against the makers of Netflix series Scoop, which is scheduled to release on Friday. The vacation bench is likely to hear his plea on the same day.
In his petition, filed through advocate Akash Pandey, Rajan has sought a permanent restraining order against the series, accusing filmmaker Hansal Mehta and producer Matchbox Shots LLP of “infringing his personality rights” by using his picture and voice without consent. He has also sought removal of the trailer.
Scoop, a six-episode Netflix series, is based on the story of journalist Jigna Vora, who was acquitted in the case related to the murder of senior journalist Jyotirmoy Dey aka J Dey.
Dey, a journalist who wrote extensively about the underThe world, was killed near his home in Powai on July 11, 2011. The series is inspired by Jigna Vora’s memoir, Behind the Bars In Byculla: My Days in Prison.
Referring to the trailer of the series, which was released on May 15, the plea stated that Rajan’s wife came across two interviews of Hansal Mehta on various television networks on May 22 and 25 after which she alerted him about the series.
“The plaintiff’s wife is disturbed and affected by the repeated and widespread gossip of the web series,” said the plea, underscoring that it was causing a fear of threat to life to the plaintiff and other family members.
interim application stated that making any “direct or indirect reference to the plaintiff without receiving prior consent amounts to infringement of his rights, which could be passed on as defamation as well”.
Rajan said he was compelled to approach the court after the makers of the series failed to comply with his legal notice asking them not to release it. He also said that he had challenged a CBI special court’s order that convicted him and others in the J Dey murder case, adding that the appeal was pending before the high court.
He added that if the series was allowed to be aired his fundamental rights to privacy will be infringed upon as nearly 200 million subscribers of Netflix will view the series and will be prejudiced against him and hence, the court should issue a permanent injunction against its release.
HT tried to reach out to the makers of the series but couldn’t immediately get a response.