Delhi High Court Reserves Order on HarperCollins Appeal

The trial court had passed an ex parte interim injunction that restrained the publication of a book on Asaram Bapu titled ‘Gunning for the Godman: The True Story Behind Asaram Bapu’s Conviction’. The basis for this order was that the appeal against the conviction in the rape case was sub-judice before the Rajasthan High Court.

HarperCollins asked to consider issuing a disclaimer regarding 5000 already printed copies

A Single Judge Bench of Justice Najmi Waziri heard the appeal. In the beginning, the Court asked HarperCollins and Respondent, Sanchita to find out if there is a mid-way possible to resolve the issue. The Court suggested that the publishing house may consider issuing a flyer/disclaimer along with the book because nothing can be done with regarding the 5,000 already printed copies. However, after the Respondent requested the Court to consider the issue on merits, the Court proceeded to hear the parties.

Arguments revolved around the Black Friday judgement

Respondent's counsel referred to the Black Friday Judgment and contended that Article 21 prevails over Article 19(1)(a) i. e. the right to free speech comes with the responsibility that free speech of one person should not harm the reputation and rights of others.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for HarperCollins said that even in the Black Friday judgement, a stay on the release of the movie was granted till the judgment was passed by the trial court and in the present case, the case was at the stage of appeal.  Therefore, no such injunction could be granted.

Book release stalled due to ongoing Court battle

Authored by Ajay Lamba, Additional Commissioner of Police, Jaipur and Sanjiv Mathur, the book, ‘Gunning for the Godman: The True Story Behind Asaram Bapu’s Conviction’, is and was scheduled to be released on September 5, 2020.