The Mumbai City Civil Court on Thursday granted an interim injunction against publishing or broadcasting defamatory content against actress and filmmaker Sayani Gupta. The matter is related to her short film ‘Aasmani’, which filmmaker Vineeta Negi had accused of plagiarism.
According to a report by the legal website Bar and Bench, Additional Sessions Judge Shuddhikumar Murlidharrao Buke granted the interim relief application filed on behalf of Sayani Gupta. Sayani Gupta has filed a defamation suit of Rs 9 crore against filmmaker Vineeta Negi. Negi had alleged that key parts of her incomplete documentary ‘Prabha’ were copied in Sayani Gupta’s film.
Sayani Gupta is making her directorial debut with the film Aasmani.
The court has restrained Negi and other defendants from publishing, broadcasting, or continuing to publish defamatory content against Sayani Gupta. This interim relief also includes a directive to remove the alleged defamatory content present on platforms like Meta, Reddit, and Deccan Chronicle.
The court clarified that its order does not mean a complete ban on the publication of information based on true facts.
Know what the whole matter is?
Vinita Negi has accused Sayani Gupta of plagiarism, copyright infringement, and fraud regarding her directorial debut short film ‘Aasmani’. FTII alumna and filmmaker Vinita Negi claimed that she was making a documentary titled ‘Prabha’, but Sayani Gupta stole and used scenes from that documentary in her directorial debut short film ‘Aasmani’.
Sayani Gupta has denied these allegations. She termed the accusations as false, misleading, and baseless.
Sayani also filed a complaint with the Screenwriters Association, but before any action could be taken, Vinita started making statements against Sayani on social media, accusing her of plagiarism.
Sayani filed a defamation suit of 9 crores against Vinita. According to Sayani Gupta, Vinita disseminated these allegations on a wider scale through media reports and social media, which damaged her professional reputation and work.
Sent emails to film festivals, caused damage to the film
Sayani claimed in her petition that her film ‘Aasmani’ was selected for screening at the Indian Film Festival of New Zealand, but was later removed from the festival.
Dia Mirza is the executive director of the film Aasmani.
Gupta has demanded Rs 9 crore in damages from the court, the removal of the allegedly defamatory content, and a public retraction and apology from Vinita Negi. She had also requested the appointment of a court receiver to take possession of any copies or devices containing the allegedly defamatory material.
The next hearing of the case will be held soon
After granting interim relief to Sayani, the next hearing in this matter will be on October 12. Advocates Monil Punjabi, Priyanka Sinha, Bhavya Shah, and Mujtaba Ambekar appeared on behalf of Sayani Gupta. Meanwhile, Advocates Sayali Shinde and Lakshmi Jenkins represented Vinita Negi.
