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The frenzied media coverage over the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput has brought to the fore questions of responsible journalism and the permissible limits of free speech.
Even as the Bombay High Court is hearing PILs filed against the media trial being conducted over the matter, a civil defamation suit by major Bollywood production houses against Republic TV and Times Now has now been filed before the Delhi High Court.
Bar & Bench accessed the 1,069-page suit copy of the Producers Association that argues that a smear campaign has been launched by the media channels against Bollywood as a collective.
The suit has annexures of 312 pages with instances of Social Media references where these Bollywood production houses including the likes of Amitabh Bachhan have been asked to be boycotted.
In a statement, the law firm for the Bollywood Producers Association, DSK Legal said, the suit is not just against the media personalities but also against unknown defendants who may be violating order that may be passed.
Suit is not just seeking orders against the channels and platforms named in the suit, but also against unnamed defendants referred to as John Doe/ Ashok Kumar. This means that any orders passed in favour of the plaintiffs would apply to all television channels and content on digital platforms which may be found violating such orders. Our clients have also come across some others publishing such content and will be adding certain specific additional defendants to the suit. Our clients also wish to clarify that as specifically stated in the plaint they are not seeking a blanket gag order against media reportage of investigation of cases, as our clients find is being erroneously reported.