Scam 1992: Bombay HC Stays Investigation Against Sony Pictures' In Criminal Defamation Case
The division bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar of the Bombay High Court have stayed an investigation against the owner of the SonyLIV app, Sony Pictures Network India Pvt Ltd and Scam 1992
The
division
bench
of
Justices
SS
Shinde
and
NJ
Jamadar
of
the
Bombay
High
Court
has
stayed
an
investigation
against
the
owner
of
the
SonyLIV
app,
Sony
Pictures
Network
India
Pvt
Ltd.
According
to
reports,
Karad
Urban
Co-operative
Bank
(KUCB)
filed
an
FIR
for
offences
of
defamation
under
the
Indian
Penal
Code,
violation
of
Trademarks
Act
and
Information
Technology
Act.
Scam
1992
directed
by
Hansal
Mehta,
currently
streaming
on
SonyLIV
is
about
Indian
stockbroker
Harshad
Mehta,
known
for
his
involvement
in
the
1992
Indian
securities
scam.
He
was
also
known
as
an
infamous
as
a
market
manipulator.
The
show
followed
his
raise
as
a
stockbroker
and
his
fall
after
several
cases
were
filed
against
him.
According
to
the
complaint,
KUCB
has
claimed
that
the
bank's
trademark
logo
displayed
in
one
of
the
episodes
similar
to
KUCB's
logo
has
caused
serious
damage
to
the
'financial,
commercial
and
social
reputation'
of
the
bank.
Advocate
Shirish
Gupta,
representing
the
OTT
platform,
told
the
court
that
the
scene
having
the
logo
appeared
only
for
3
seconds
and
stated
that
trademark
infringement
sections
cannot
be
invoked
as
law
states
it
should
be
for
the
purpose
of
trade.
He
added,
"Here
there
is
no
trade.
This
is
only
a
show
for
the
purpose
of
entertainment.
An
investigation
here
is
being
done
by
a
police
inspector
whereas
the
power
cannot
be
delegated
and
it
has
to
be
done
by
a
senior
officer
not
less
than
the
rank
of
Deputy
Superintendent
of
Police
under
the
trademark
act."
The
bench
proceeded
by
saying,
"How
can
the
investigation
proceed
when
the
law
states
specifically
who
can
investigate.
This
is
a
waste
of
investigation
time.
Let
the
state
reflect.
We
are
staying
the
investigation."
Scam
1992
based
on
the
book
titled
The
Scam:
Who
Won,
Who
Lost,
Who
Got
Away
starred
Pratik
Gandhi,
Sharib
Hashmi,
Shreya
Dhanwanthary,
Hemant
Kher
and
Nikhil
Dwivedi
in
lead
roles.