Chhota Rajan Files Law Suit Against Hansal Mehta's Web Series ‘Scoop’, Alleges Defamation

Gangster Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje, better known by his stage name Chhota Rajan, has filed a lawsuit in Bombay High Court (HC) against director Hansal Mehta and the proprietors of Matchbox Shots LLP, who produced the web series "Scoop," which is set to premiere on the OTT service Netflix on Friday.

Rajan has objected to the filmmaker using his voice and image in his lawsuit. His wife told him about it after watching the series' trailer. 

AP

Rajan claimed that this was a violation of his rights because the director failed to get his consent. He has so stated that the creators "should be permanently restrained from releasing the series". He has also asked for the caravan to be taken away.

Rajan filed the lawsuit on Thursday through attorney Akash Pandey, and the vacation bench of the HC is expected to hear it on Friday. The Netflix series is based on the life of journalist Jigna Vora, who was charged with the murder of Jyotirmoy Dey (J Dey), another journalist. On July 11, 2011, Dey was slain in Powai, close to his home. 

Scoop still

The biographical book 'Behind the Bars in Byculla: My Days in Prison' by Vora served as the source material for the series.

According to the plea, Rajan's wife saw two interviews with Mehta on different television networks on May 22 and 25, and she then informed him about the series after seeing the trailer for the show, which was released on May 15. The plea highlighted that it was making the plaintiff and other family members to fear for their lives and stated that "The plaintiff's wife is disturbed and affected by the repeated and widespread gossip of the web series."

The interim application said that making “direct or indirect reference to the plaintiff without receiving prior consent amounts to infringement of his rights, which could be passed on as defamation as well.”

As per recent updates, the case in which he alleged infringement of personality rights and seeking Re 1 in damages, was postponed by the Bombay High Court on Friday. The series has already been released, according to the HC, who is asking for responses. It will be heard again on June 7.  

Although he and nine other people were found guilty of killing Dey in 2011, the plea noted that he had appealed the special CBI court ruling of 2019 before the high court that same year, which is still pending. Rajan said that while the appeal was pending, the series' creators were tarnishing his reputation by associating him with a made-up plot in order to profit financially.