Bombay High Court stays police probe against Sony Pictures
The Bombay High Court on Monday, through an interim order, stayed an ongoing probe by Pune police against Sony Pictures in a case of alleged criminal defamation and copyright infringement in its Scam 1992 web series. The decision was taken by a bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamada. Notably, the court adjourned the matter for further hearing on September 17.
Here is what Sony Pictures submitted before the court
They took note of the submission made by Sony Pictures' counsel, advocate Shirish Gupte, that while as per law, investigation in a criminal defamation case must be conducted by an officer of deputy superintendent-level, in the present case, an inspector was investigating the alleged offenses.
Pune police breached provisions of Criminal Procedure Code: Gupte
Gupte said there existed previous Supreme Court judgments, as per which a criminal defamation case under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code was not a cognizable offense and police need not register an FIR immediately after receipt of a complaint. "Yet, Pune police had registered an FIR and were investigating the case in breach of provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code," he said.
Complaint was made by Karad Urban Co-operative Bank
Sony Pictures Network India, which owns the SonyLIV app, approached the HC earlier this month, seeking to quash the FIR registered against it by the Pune police on a complaint by Karad Urban Co-operative Bank (KUCB) for offenses of criminal defamation and trademark infringement.
Here is what the complaint was about
As per the plea, the complaint had been filed by KUCB, alleging that in one episode of Scam 1992, a logo similar to that of the complainant bank was displayed in the background which caused serious damage to the bank's reputation. In its plea, Sony Pictures said a disclaimer against all liabilities toward the aired content was published at the beginning of every episode.
The FIR was baseless and absurd: Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures also said that the FIR was baseless and absurd. On Monday, following advocate Gupte's submissions, the state government's counsel, Jayesh Yagnik, told the HC that the state had been made aware of the error in the ongoing investigation.
The investigation cannot go on further: HC
"We have told the officers concerned to correct the mistake. A deputy superintendent-level officer will begin the probe afresh," Yagnik said. "At this stage it is not necessary to elaborate. It is sufficient to say that the investigation cannot go on further. Ad-interim relief in terms of stay on the investigation till next hearing," the HC said.
