The Bombay High Court on Wednesday passed an interim order restraining filmmaker Santosh Kumar from repeating allegations that director Aditya Dhar plagiarized the script for his blockbuster film “Dhurandhar.” The court’s decision comes in response to a defamation suit filed by Dhar, who claimed that the repeated accusations were causing “irreparable damage” to his professional reputation.
Justice Arif Doctor, presiding over the matter, observed that Dhar had established a prima facie case for the grant of relief. The court has scheduled the next hearing for April 16.
The legal conflict originated following the release of “Dhurandhar: The Revenge,” the sequel to the 2025 hit film “Dhurandhar.” According to the suit, the defendant, Santosh Kumar, publicly accused Dhar of stealing his registered script titled ‘D Saheb.’
Dhar initially attempted to resolve the matter by issuing a legal notice to Kumar, denying all claims of plagiarism and demanding that he cease making such statements. When Kumar failed to respond to the notice, Dhar moved the High Court through the law firm DSK Legal, seeking a permanent injunction and damages.
Representing Aditya Dhar, Senior Counsel Birendra Saraf argued that the defendant’s persistent and unsubstantiated claims of script theft were defamatory. He emphasized that these remarks were specifically designed to malign the filmmaker’s standing in the industry.
While passing the interim order, Justice Arif Doctor noted that the plaintiff had successfully met the legal threshold for interim protection.
“Until the next date, the defendant (Kumar) shall be restrained from repeating words and remarks set out in the suit (filed by Dhar) and all other allegations of a similar nature,” the court stated in its order.
The court’s restraint applies to all similar remarks and allegations regarding the authorship or theft of the “Dhurandhar” scripts until the matter is heard again in mid-April.
