Actor Kamaal R Khan (KRK) has petitioned the Bombay High Court to overturn a restraining order issued by a Mumbai court in response to a defamation complaint filed by Bollywood actor Salman Khan.
The Mumbai City Civil Court issued the injunction on June 23, 2021, prohibiting KRK from creating and uploading videos, posting, tweeting, or publishing any defamatory content, directly or indirectly, about Salman Khan, his business ventures, and films/projects, including the most recent film 'Radhe.'
KRK filed an appeal with the High Court against this "blanket order," claiming that he was a film critic whose job it was to review films.
Justice AS Gadkari was informed by Advocate Parag Khandhar, who is representing Khan, that the appeal was served late last night and that he needs some time to respond to it.
As a result, the case was postponed for two weeks with the instruction that all respondents be served.
KRK sought the revocation of the June 2021 order in his appeal, which was filed through Advocate Manoj Gadkari. The following are just a few of the grounds that KRK has taken:
●Because the ingredients for granting an injunction had not been met, the lower court made a grave error in granting a blanket injunction preventing KRK from posting content.
●That once a creator has made his creation public, he cannot prevent the public from forming an opinion about it, even if the opinion is negative;
●As a film critic, he is free to review films that have been made available to the public, or to declare whether an actor or actress is a success or a flop.
●The lower court should have limited its orders to the alleged defamatory statements in the suit rather than issuing a blanket order prohibiting KRK from publishing his comments on current and future films, and the order is in the nature of a gag order, which is improper.
●The lower court erred in issuing a temporary injunction as "final relief" instead of a permanent injunction because the prayers in the notice of motion and the suit are identical, which is not permissible.
Khan and his company Salman Khan Ventures Private Limited sought Rs. 90 lakh in damages from KRK for allegedly defamatory remarks, videos, and online content posted by KRK against Khan.
It was also claimed that in another video posted in November 2020, KRK made claims against Khan's brand 'Being Human,' claiming that the charity organisation was involved in fraud and money laundering.
Such false allegations, according to Khan, will tarnish the goodwill, reputation, and image of his brand, which he has built over years of hard work and effort.
Khan and his business ventures are being represented by a DSK Legal team that includes Managing Partner Anand Desai, Partner Chandrima Mitra, and Khandhar.
