Nyay - The Justice: Delhi HC refuses stay on movie on Sushant Singh Rajput

Late Actor Sushant Singh Rajput's father claimed in his plea that the film contained defamatory statements about his son

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to stop the streaming of a film based on late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, stating that his rights to personality and privacy were "extinguished" with his death in 2020, reported Bar and Bench.

Justice C Hari Shankar was hearing a petition filed by Rajput's father, Krishna Kishore Singh, seeking a stay on the streaming of the film 'Nyay: The Justice'.

Singh claimed that the film contained defamatory statements about his son and violated the personality rights of his son.

The Hindi film was released on an over-the-top platform called Lapalap Original in June 2021.

“The information contained, and shown, in the impugned film, is entirely derived from items which featured in the media and, therefore, constitute publicly available information,” Justice Shankar said in his ruling.

“In making a film on the basis thereof, it could not, therefore, be said that the defendants had violated any right of Rajput, much less of the plaintiff [his father]," he added.

Rajput was found dead in his Mumbai flat on June 14, 2020, in what the police initially said appeared to be a case of suicide. However, Rajput's family later filed a complaint with the Bihar Police, accusing his former live-in partner and actor Rhea Chakraborty of abetment of suicide and cheating.

The cases against her were taken up by three central agencies: the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

Chakraborty, who was eventually arrested in a drug case, was granted bail on October 7, 2020, after a court determined that the actor was not a member of any drug syndicate and had no criminal record.