The Gujarat high court on July 10 set aside a lower court’s order which had allowed the heirs of gangster Abdul Lateef to be included as plaintiffs in an eight-year-old defamation suit against Shah Rukh Khan and the producers of Raees. The film, released in January 2017, features a character said to be based on Abdul Lateef.
The defamation suit was originally filed in 2016 by Lateef’s son, Mushtaq Lateef Shaikh, who sought damages of Rs. 101 crore with 18% interest from the date of instituting the suit, alleging that the film tarnished his father’s reputation.
Mushtaq passed away on July 6, 2020. Subsequently, on April 27, 2022, Mushtaq’s widow and two daughters filed an application to be included as plaintiffs in the defamation suit. This application was allowed by the city civil court in Bombay, a decision which was later challenged by the actor and others in the high court.
It may be mentioned here that the lower court had brushed aside the objections raised by Shah Rukh Khan, the film’s producers (Red Chillies Entertainment and Excel Entertainment) and director Rahul Dholakia, who argued that the defamation suit could not survive after the complainant’s death.
The high court said: “The cause of action said by the late plaintiff, Mushtaq Ahmed Abdul Lateef, dies on his death. It is not a cause of action which could be inherited by his heirs… In the present case, as discussed herein, the right to sue does not survive for the heirs of the deceased.”
The high court directed the trial court to amend the suit within three days in accordance with its order.