On
Thursday
(January
21,
2021)
the
Delhi
High
Court
refused
to
stay
the
release
of
Priyanka
Chopra
and
Rajkummar
Rao-starrer
The
White
Tiger.
According
to
reports,
Hollywood
producer
John
Hart
Jr
has
alleged
a
copyright
violation
over
the
Netflix
film.
Citing
the
film's
release
set
in
less
than
24
hours
on
January
22,
2021,
an
urgent
hearing
was
conducted
late
on
Thursday
evening.
A
single
bench
of
Justice
C
Hari
Shankar,
after
hearing
the
matter
for
over
two
hours,
dismissed
the
stay
application
by
the
producer.
It
was
noted
by
the
court
that
the
plaintiffs
who
choose
to
approach
the
court
less
than
24
hours
before
the
release
of
the
film,
had
not
been
able
to
make
out
a
case
for
an
ad-interim
injunction
on
release
of
the
movie."It
is
not
possible
for
this
court
to
come
to
the
finding,
based
on
the
material
on
record,
that
by
making
and
releasing
the
film,
the
defendants
have
indulged
in
copyright
infringement,"
the
court
said.
The
court
has
issued
summons
to
the
producer
of
the
film
Mukul
Deora
and
Netflix
and
said
that
they
are
allowed
to
release
the
film.
However,
the
court
has
also
directed
all
parties
to
keep
detailed
accounts
of
the
film
so
that
if
at
a
later
stage,
Hart
Jr
succeeds,
the
court
can
determine
the
monetary
compensation.
The
film
which
also
stars
Adarsh
Gourav
in
the
lead
role,
is
based
on
a
book
written
by
Aravinda
Adiga,
titled
The
White
Tiger.
Producer
John
Hart
Jr
Has
Alleged
A
Copyright
Violation
Advocate
Kapil
Sankhla,
representing
Hart
Jr,
revealed
in
the
court
that
a
literary
auction
agreement
was
executed
between
his
client
(Hart)
and
author
of
the
book
in
March
2009.
Hart
intended
on
making
an
Oscar-worthy
film
to
be
released
in
Hollywood
and
only
found
out
in
October
2019
that
Netflix
was
in
the
process
of
making
and
releasing
the
film.
The
plaintiff
sought
a
stay
on
the
release
saying
it
will
not
cause
any
serious
financial
ramifications
to
the
defendants
as
the
movie
is
to
be
released
on
OTT
and
not
in
theatres.
However,
Advocate
Saikrishna
Rajagopal,
representing
Netflix,
argued
that
OTT
film
release
involves
huge
finances
and
goodwill
and
no
stay
should
be
granted.
Array
Meanwhile,
senior
advocate
Sandeep
Sethi,
representing
Deora,
argued
against
the
suit
stating
the
plaintiffs
approached
the
court
at
the
11th
hour
despite
being
aware
of
the
production
at
Netflix
since
October
2019,
and
it
should
not
be
permissible.
Sethi
added
that
Hart
Jr
has
presented
a
one-sided
story
and
concealed
various
relevant
documents
from
the
court.
The
White
Tiger
Is
Streaming
On
Netflix
After
hearing
all
the
parties,
the
judge
said,
"I
am
prima
facie
inclined
to
agree
with
Mr.
Sethi
that
if
release
of
the
movie
is
stalled
at
this
stage,
it
will
cause
serious
and
irreparable
consequences
to
the
defendants." The
case
has
been
listed
for
a
second
hearing
before
the
joint
registrar
on
March
22,
2021.