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The Bombay High Court has disposed of a defamation suit filed by filmmaker Aditya Dhar, director of the recently released Bollywood film Dhurandhar, against filmmaker Santosh Kumar.
The case was heard by Justice Arif Doctor, who noted that Kumar had tendered an apology for remarks made during a March 30 press conference, where he alleged that Dhar's filmDhurandhar was copied from his work D Saheb.
Dhar's lawyer informed the court that, in light of the apology, his client did not wish to pursue the defamation suit or seek damages and accepted the apology.
"Mr Bhura, the counsel appearing on behalf of Santosh Kumar (who is present in Court) has tendered an apology for the statements made in the press meeting held on March 30, 2026. Dr Saraf, the Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of Aditya Dhar, submits that, in light of the apology tendered, his client does not wish to precipitate the Suit for damages," the judge said.
"He accepts the said apology and submits that the suit can now be accordingly disposed of. In light of this, nothing further survives in the suit and the same is accordingly disposed of," he added.
While closing the defamation case, the judge said that even though Kumar has apologised and the case is over, he is still free to take legal action separately if he believes his script was actually copied.
"It is made clear that if Kumar has any claim to make against the plaintiff with regard to the script of the film Dhurandhar: The Revenge(2026), he shall be at liberty to do so and that this order shall not, in any manner, come in the way of such claim," the order read.
The case was originally been filed by Dhar after Kumar made public statements accusing him of plagiarism. Dhar approached the court seeking orders to stop Kumar from making such defamatory remarks that claim he had registered the script with the Screenwriters Association in 2023.
In a separate matter, the court has ordered the takedown of Masterchow Foods' advertisement, which featured a character, Jameel Jamali, from the film Dhurandhar. The direction came on a plea filed by Reliance Industries Limited, the producer of the film.
Justice Sharmila U Deshmukh said that Reliance owns the copyright over the character and film footage and using or sharing this content without proper permission violates copyright. The court has also ordered all online platforms and unknown users to remove, delete, or block access to the ad and video.
The case was heard by Justice Arif Doctor, who noted that Kumar had tendered an apology for remarks made during a March 30 press conference, where he alleged that Dhar's filmDhurandhar was copied from his work D Saheb.
Dhar's lawyer informed the court that, in light of the apology, his client did not wish to pursue the defamation suit or seek damages and accepted the apology.
"Mr Bhura, the counsel appearing on behalf of Santosh Kumar (who is present in Court) has tendered an apology for the statements made in the press meeting held on March 30, 2026. Dr Saraf, the Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of Aditya Dhar, submits that, in light of the apology tendered, his client does not wish to precipitate the Suit for damages," the judge said.
The
Bombay High Court has disposed of a defamation suit filed by Aditya Dhar, director of the recently released Bollywood film Dhurandhar, against Filmmaker Santosh Kumar, who in a Press Conference had claimed that the script of the film in question was 'copied' from his original… pic.twitter.com/gIg5BhgcyA
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) May 5, 2026
"He accepts the said apology and submits that the suit can now be accordingly disposed of. In light of this, nothing further survives in the suit and the same is accordingly disposed of," he added.
While closing the defamation case, the judge said that even though Kumar has apologised and the case is over, he is still free to take legal action separately if he believes his script was actually copied.
"It is made clear that if Kumar has any claim to make against the plaintiff with regard to the script of the film Dhurandhar: The Revenge(2026), he shall be at liberty to do so and that this order shall not, in any manner, come in the way of such claim," the order read.
The case was originally been filed by Dhar after Kumar made public statements accusing him of plagiarism. Dhar approached the court seeking orders to stop Kumar from making such defamatory remarks that claim he had registered the script with the Screenwriters Association in 2023.
In a separate matter, the court has ordered the takedown of Masterchow Foods' advertisement, which featured a character, Jameel Jamali, from the film Dhurandhar. The direction came on a plea filed by Reliance Industries Limited, the producer of the film.
Bombay High Court orders takedown of ad featuring Dhurandhar film character
Read here: https://t.co/KPKvxrBOHz pic.twitter.com/HbS9ICCJjF
— Bar and Bench (@barandbench) May 5, 2026
Justice Sharmila U Deshmukh said that Reliance owns the copyright over the character and film footage and using or sharing this content without proper permission violates copyright. The court has also ordered all online platforms and unknown users to remove, delete, or block access to the ad and video.
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