On February 24, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea seeking a stay on the release of the Bollywood movie 'Gangubai Kathiawadi'.
A bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and J K Maheswari dismissed the plea of Babuji Rawji Shah, who claims to be the adopted son of Gangubai, against the Bombay High Court's order declining him various reliefs such as interim stay on the release of the movie.
"SLP dismissed. Reasons to follow," the bench said.
At the outset, senior advocate A Sundaram, appearing for the filmmakers, told the bench that it would practically not be possible to change the name of the movie, as suggested by it, as they will have to go to the censor board again.
He submitted that there cannot be any objection to the naming of the film as a censor certificate has been given to the movie.
"There is no basis for adoption. The person is claiming to be the adopted son and there is no prima facie evidence. He is a third party and he has only shown a ration card to prove his claim. Not even a whisper of proof of the same apart from ration card," Sundaram said.
Sundaram said the entire case is premised on a book based on 2011, which they did not consider challenging at that time.
"The book was 'The Mafia Queens of Bombay'. Our film glorifies the lady as to what she has accomplished," he said.
There are judgements to show that the right of defamation dies with a person's death, Sundaram said.
"When I produce a film of a public figure who died 40 years ago, we are trying to show how great a lady she was. I am praising her more if she lived in a red-light area and achieved great height," he submitted.
The bench then asked, "What if there are sensibilities in the family?"
Sundaram replied that they are not family.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, also appearing for the filmmakers, contended that the movie is not derogatory at all and the character Gangubai has been glorified as to how she rose from a background and became an activist.
"We have certification of the film and it is set to release. It is out of our hands actually," he said.
Rohatgi also questioned the timing of the petition and asked, "Why is there a gap of nine months challenging the Bombay High Court judgment?"
Advocate Rakesh Singh, appearing for the petitioner, argued that defamation not only affects the person but family members as well.
"They say the movie is in the book and if the book is defamatory then the movie is defamatory. The book says that she was having an affair and then she was pushed into a brothel in Kamathipura. The promo also depicts this dialogue in the movie, which is also defamatory to the victim," he stated.
The bench then said that he will have to establish a strong prima facie case on locus standi and the merits of the case.
Shah had also sought a stay on the release of the movie 'Gangubai Kathiawadi'.