The Bombay High Court recently disposed of the defamation suit filed by Aditya Dhar, director of Dhurandhar, against filmmaker Santosh Kumar, who had claimed that the script of the film`s sequel, released in March 2026, was `copied` from his original work titled D Saheb.
Bombay High Court closes Aditya Dhar defamation case
According to Live Law, a single-judge bench of Justice Arif Doctor, on April 30, disposed of the suit, after Kumar tendered an apology for his comments made during a press conference against Dhar.
In the order, Justice Doctor reportedly recorded, “Mr Bhuva, the counsel appearing on behalf of Santosh Kumar (who is present in Court) has tendered an apology for the statements made in the press meeting held on March 30, 2026. Dr Saraf, the Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of Aditya Dhar, submits that, in light of the apology tendered, his client does not wish to precipitate the suit for damages. He accepts the said apology and submits that the suit can now be accordingly disposed off. In light of this, nothing further survives in the suit, and the same is accordingly disposed of.”
The judge also granted liberty to Kumar to initiate suitable proceedings with regard to his claim over the film`s script. The order added, “It is made clear that if Kumar has any claim to make against the Plaintiff with regard to the script of the film Dhurandhar: The Revenge (2026), he shall be at liberty to do so and that this order shall not, in any manner, come in the way of such claim.”
During an earlier hearing held on April 16, Justice Doctor had urged both parties to try and `settle` the dispute and not `escalate` the matter to the extent of filing a defamation suit. Later, in a subsequent hearing on April 30, Kumar assured the court orally that, henceforth, he would not be making any defamatory comments against Dhar or the film starring Ranveer Singh.
However, according to the report, his counsel refused to tender an apology for the comments made during the press meet, arguing that the comments were not made directly against Dhar. The matter was again mentioned before the judge, wherein Kumar eventually apologised for his statements, and the matter was settled.
About the defamation lawsuit
Aditya Dhar had moved the Bombay High Court, seeking restraining orders against Kumar over his alleged defamatory remarks against the filmmaker following the release of Dhurandhar: The Revenge (2026). Aditya pointed out that Kumar had addressed a press conference, wherein he made certain allegations of plagiarism.
Kumar, during the press conference, had allegedly claimed that he had discussed his original script titled D Saheb with several major production houses. He added that he had even registered the script with the Screenwriters Association in 2023. However, before things could proceed further, Dhar copied his script and made the film. The matter was first heard in court on April 8, where the bench restrained Kumar from making any defamatory comments against Dhar or the film.