On Monday, the Delhi High Court took a strong stand against the makers of ‘Kala Hiran: The Battle for Legacy’, stating that he would order the removal of the film’s teaser from social media within 24 hours. The court’s observations came while hearing a lawsuit filed by salman khanwho sought protection of his personality rights, claiming the film is based on the 1998 Blackbuck poaching case and depicts him in a way he considers defamatory.
Salman Khan’s plea calls for notice on the platforms
justice Jyoti Singh noted that if the producer did not voluntarily remove the teaser, platforms such as X and YouTube would be ordered to remove the content themselves.
Salman Khan’s reputation ‘actively damaged’, court says
According to Bar and Bench, the court was scathing in its assessment of producer Amit Jani’s behavior during the hearing, noting that the continued presence of the teaser and related content was actively damaging Salman’s reputation. “What kind of contents are these. You seem emboldened by the fact that no order passed last time. Your client thinks he is above the law. It’s getting worse every day… Every minute that is in the public domain is damaging the plaintiff’s (Khan) reputation here. I was soft on you, but yours are incorrigible… You can’t do that even to a common man. It cannot be worse than this even for a common man.”
Salman Khan’s case highlights the concern about contempt of court
Having seen the teaser during the hearing, Justice Singh further noted that depicting events still under judicial consideration could constitute contempt of court. He remarked, “Reputation is built with a lot of effort; once it’s lost, it’s lost. Even if it’s played for 24 hours, someone suffers.”
Salman Khan links the film to the 1998 Blackbuck case
Salman wants the court to protect his personal rights, saying the film ‘Kala Hiran: The Battle for Legacy’ is based on the blackbuck poaching case of 1998. This case is still going on in Rajasthan Superior Court and Supreme Court. Khan says the film wrongly portrays him as having links with the underworld. He has also pointed out that the movie’s poster shows a character who looks a lot like him, wearing a bracelet similar to the one he wears. Khan says that because the case is not yet decided, showing the film could damage his right to a fair trial. His petition also mentions news reports and things that producer Amit Jani allegedly said, which Khan claims make it clear that the film is about the Blackbuck case.
Salman Khan alleges that the legal notice was broken on camera
Khan further alleged that after issuing a legal notice to the filmmakers, producer Amit Jani brought it up on camera during an interview and later approached X to claim that he was being threatened by both Salman and the underworld.
Salman Khan’s team defends the right to a fair trial
Arguing on behalf of the producer, the lawyer claimed that neither the teaser nor the film mentions Salman by name, nor does it employ artificial intelligence or deepfake technology, asking, “This is just a teaser, how does this infringe on his personality?” Khan’s legal team, however, pushed back, insisting that the film clearly alluded to the actor. His lawyer questioned: “Am I not entitled to a fair trial? The whole community is turning against me,” while noting that Khan had already been acquitted in three of the four criminal cases, with sentencing for the rest currently suspended.
Salman Khan’s case brings Meta, Google into the picture
Representatives of Meta and Google also submitted submissions to the court, arguing that Internet intermediaries should not be subject to pre-publication mandates. Justice Singh, however, pushed back on this, noting that online platforms also could not be entirely exempted from liability, commenting: “As the owners of the platform, I will have to take some responsibility somewhere.” The court ordered Khan’s legal team to compile a list of all links containing the allegedly infringing content, paving the way for further takedown orders.