Calcutta civil court lifts gag order on publication of 'The Dirty Dozen'

The Calcutta Alipore Civil Court has lifted its ad interim order against the circulation and publication of the book titled The Dirty Dozen.

 

In its order dated January 30, the court stated that the plaintiffs, including Electrosteel Casting Limited, a company registered under the Companies Act, are not “entitled to get the injunction as prayed for.” The plaintiffs had sought to halt the circulation and publication of the book, authored by business journalist Sundaresha Subramanian, who is the defendant in the case. The order does not name the defendant but identifies him as a business journalist, newsroom leader, and the author of the book.

 

The court ruled that the plaintiffs had “failed to establish at this prima facie stage that an actionable wrong has been committed and that the plaintiff has suffered irreparable loss and injury.”

 

The book, published by Pan Macmillan India, another defendant in the case, examines the rise and fall of India’s 12 largest corporate defaulters.

 

Previously, on July 10, 2024, the court had restrained the publishing and circulation of the book until August 8, 2024. This order has now been vacated.

 

“The petition under Order 39, Rule 4 of the CPC is allowed on contest, and the order of ad interim injunction so allowed by this court stands vacated,” the court order stated.