Delhi High Court to shortly hear suit by Bollywood Production Houses against 'Bollywood drugs mafia' reportage, seeking to curb irresponsible and derogatory remarks against the film industry.

The matter is before Justice Rajiv Shakdher.

The suit singles out @republic's Arnab Goswami and Pradeep Bhandari and @TimesNow's Rahul Shivshankar and Navika Kumar for conducting media trials of Bollywood personalities and interfering with the right to privacy.

@navikakumar @pradip103 @RShivshankar

#BollywoodStrikesBack

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10 contentions in the 1,069-page suit filed by Bollywood producers against Republic TV, Times Now https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/top-contentions-suit-bollywood-houses-against-republic-tv-times-now

Senior Advocates @KapilSibal, Sajan Poovayya, Arvind Nigam, Rajiv Nayar and Sandeep Sethi among the counsel on screen.

#BollywoodStrikesBack
#DelhiHighCourt

Hearings begins.

Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar: Me and Advocate @SibalAkhil appear for the plaintiffs

Nayar informs court: I am appearing for all the plaintiffs, Mr Akhil Sibal appears with me

Advocate Neela Gokhale appears for plaintiff no.2, she informs Court.

Nayar refers to @republic show hosted by Arnab Goswami where he referred to "a kingpin producer in Bollywood", other references to "Bollywood's rotting cabal" in reports on the #SushantSinghRajput case.

Nayar refers to a September 22 report next

Nayar recounts in Sept 22 report, it was said "clean up and boycott the #bollywood dirt."

Nayar goes on narrating other media reports.

Nayar: Allegation is that we are linked to the drug mafia

Nayar goes on to recount reports where Saira Ali Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, Deepika Padukone were named in such media reports which said: "we need to boycott all 'druggies'".

Nayar: It does not stop here. Now they proceed as if we have links with Pakistan and ISI.

Your Lordship will see how the reports start with reports on Sushant Singh and move on to links with drug peddlers and Pakistan.

Nayar refers to headline that appeared on @republic that following their reports, that @iamsrk to @karanjohar will now "renounce links with pro-Pak, anti-India Lobby"

Nayar goes on narrating media reports: Now it is alleged as if Shahrukh Khan has links with Pakistan and ISI

Nayar goes on to narrate another report: Now come to page...

Court: So, there are several of these reports.

Nayar: Yes. I just wanted to show that when you start to use this as a means to increase your #TRP, others start following.

Nayar: @TimesNow goes a step further because they access my WhatsApp chats and violate my right to privacy. My WhatsApp chats with the NCB... are accessed by them and put on the public domain.

Nayar refers to how #RheaChakraborty's WhatsApp chats concerning NCB probe were disclosed by @TimesNow

Nayar: This is more dangerous because this is actually the course of investigation.

Nayar: It started with reportage on Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide. Suicide became murder. #Bollywood became criminals, drug peddlers, ISI, Pro Pakistani Jehadis.

#BollywoodStrikesBack

Nayar: That is how the course of this course of the entire defamatory campaign- scurrilous, I must say - has changed.

Nayar also refers to reports by @ABPNews and @ZeeNews

#BollywoodStrikesBack

Nair: Only media with some responsibility is @IndiaToday. They realised the mistake and said they are making amends

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#DelhiHighCourt

Nayar: We have one channel chasing Deepika Padukone... Chasing is not a difficulty. But when you start saying 'Oh look at her sweat, paseena aa raha hein..."

#BollywoodStrikesBack
#DelhiHighCourt

Nayar comes to prayers: I can understand "fair comment", but can someone say don't restrain me from making irresponsible, defamatory remarks? from carrying out #MediaTrial?

#BollywoodStrikesBack
#DelhiHighCourt

Nayar refers to bail order passed in Vibhor Anand's case, where he had mentioned that he had submitted that he was carried away by #Republic Bharat's reporting on the Disha Salian case

(Read more) https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/vibhor-anand-gets-bail-from-session-court-mumbai

Nayar: This is to show how public perception is influencing all kinds of people

@SibalAkhil : Courts have traditionally, in the past, expressed hope that about self-regulation, auto-course correction. So they have been circumspect. But the point is it (course correction) is not taking place.

@SibalAkhil also submitted that there is now a disjunct between journalism, which has certain principles associated with journalism, and news media, a certain section of which seems to have abandoned those principles.

@SibalAkhil refers to NBA code which cautions against media making conjectures and speculations in pending cases.

Sibal: These are the standards set by the industry itself.

@SibalAkhil continues reading another NBSA report where it says is not unmindful of public media crusades which become #mediatrial.

Deficiencies in an investigation cannot be a license for media excess destroying an individual's rights, the NBSA had said, Sibal reads further.

@SibalAkhil refers to NBSA order which states that use of words such as "alleged" "purported" etc. in pending cases cannot be overemphasised.

@SibalAkhil: The advice of court is not heeded, tempering is not happening, so something more stringent is required.

(Reference is to how courts have refrained from issuing injunctions with advice for sensitive, restrained, careful media reporting on pending trials)