Delhi High Court seeks Salman Khan's response on 'Kala Hiran' producer's plea

The Delhi High Court on Friday sought Bollywood actor Salman Khan's response to a petition filed by the makers of "Kala Hiran: The Battle for Legacy", which requested the court to reject Mr. Khan's suit against the movie, citing lack of territorial jurisdiction.

Mr. Khan has sought restraint on the release of the film purportedly based on him.

Justice Tejas Karia issued a notice to the actor on producer Amit Jani's application, which also sought a stay on further proceedings in the suit.

Mr. Khan was granted four weeks to file his response. The matter has been listed for hearing on December 16.

In his petition, Amit Jani said neither the plaintiff nor any of the defendants resides or carries on business within the Delhi High Court's territorial jurisdiction.

He contended that mere accessibility of the film's teasers, posters and related publications in the national capital cannot confer jurisdiction on the Delhi High Court.

Mr. Khan resides in Mumbai, and the defendants reside or carry on business in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut, the producer said.

He also opposed the relief sought by Mr. Khan to restrain the film's release, saying that an injunction against a completed cinematographic work is an extraordinary remedy and that a short teaser cannot provide a complete assessment of the movie's context and overall impact.

Earlier, the producer had filed a similar petition against another suit filed by Mr. Khan for protection of his personality rights.

On July 27, a coordinate bench passed an interim order directing the removal of the film's teaser and other related posts from online platforms following Khan's objection to them.

The film's makers had told the court that the movie was not ready to be released as it is yet to get certification from the censor board and even the trailer has not been released.

Mr. Khan's restraint application is part of his lawsuit for protection of his personality rights.

The makers have clarified that the movie was not Salman Khan's biopic and he cannot invoke personality rights "to erase" public events concerning the blackbuck controversy.