October 26, 2020 6:59:35 pm
In addition to the damages, the lawsuit filed by Mahesh Bhatt and his brother Mukesh Bhatt also sought to remove the content in dispute from the social media platform. (Proceedings)
The Mumbai High Court on Monday prevented actress Luviena Lodh from making further defamatory remarks against filmmaker Mahesh Bhat until new orders are issued in a lawsuit brought by Bhatt seeking damages of 1 million rupees for the accusations made by Lodh on social media.
In addition to the damages, the lawsuit filed by Mahesh Bhatt and his brother Mukesh Bhatt also sought to remove the content in dispute from the social media platform and offer an unconditional apology for it.
A single judge for Judge Anil K Menon on Monday, in an urgent hearing on the lawsuit requested by Bhatts’ lawyer Ameet Naik, ordered Lodh to file a response, after his lawyer Prashant Pandey assured the court that he would not publish or would make such a statement against the plaintiffs.
“The applicants (Bhatts) are the veterans and notable personalities of the Indian film industry who have contributed immensely to the development of the Indian film industry over the course of about half a century, in their own right,” the lawsuit says.
The court granted Bhatts provisional relief and restricted Lodh until further orders were received to make, publish, circulate or communicate any defamatory or libelous comments against Bhatts in any way. He also asked him to file an answer to the lawsuit in three weeks, after which he will hear the case.
Earlier this month, actress Richa Chadha had filed a similar defamation lawsuit in Bombay High Court against a fellow actor for defamatory and derogatory statements. He had led the accused to withdraw the alleged defamatory and derogatory statements against Chadha and offered her an unconditional apology.
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