The Delhi high court yesterday (June 10) refused to stay the release of films purportedly based on the life of Sushant Singh Rajput, including Nyay: The Justice, a day before its release. The court said, these films have been portrayed neither as biopics nor as factual narrations of what transpired in his life. It added that posthumous privacy right is not permissible.
The interim order was passed on a plea made by the actor’s father to restrain the release of such films. “The artistic freedom to create fictional works cannot be controlled, limited or confined within set boundaries… An artist’s inspiration can come from any source, and the court cannot filter real-life events. This court finds merit in the submission of the defendants that details of the demise of Sushant Singh Rajput received widespread and protracted news coverage in all media, which are available in the public domain,” the order said. The court noted that senior advocate Vikas Singh, representing Sushant’s father, argued fleetingly that right to free speech in news reporting did not enjoy the same protection in matters of commercial exploitation.