‘Dhurandhar’ plagiarism row: Bombay High Court closes Aditya Dhar’s defamation case against Santosh Kumar after his apology

The Bombay High Court has brought to a close a defamation suit filed by filmmaker Aditya Dhar, director of the recently released Bollywood film Dhurandhar, against filmmaker Santosh Kumar. The dispute stemmed from Kumar’s remarks at a press conference, where he alleged that the film’s script had been “copied” from his own work titled D Saheb.

The matter was disposed of on April 30 by single-judge Justice Arif Doctor after Kumar issued an apology for his statements made during the press interaction.



"Mr. Bhura, 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 of. In light of this, nothing further survives in the Suit and the same is accordingly disposed of," Justice Doctor recorded in the order.

While disposing of the case, the court clarified that Kumar is free to pursue legal remedies regarding his claim over the script. The order noted, "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."

Dhar had approached the court seeking a restraining order against Kumar for allegedly defamatory statements made after the release of the sequel, Dhurandhar: The Revenge (2026). He argued that Kumar publicly accused him of plagiarism, claiming that the script was copied from a work Kumar had registered with the Screenwriters Association in 2023.

Kumar had also stated that he had previously shared his script, D Saheb, with several major production houses, but before any progress could be made, Dhar allegedly used the concept to make his film.

The case was first heard on April 8, when the court restrained Kumar from making further defamatory remarks about Dhar or the film. During a subsequent hearing on April 16, Justice Doctor encouraged both parties to resolve the dispute amicably instead of escalating it through prolonged litigation.
At the final hearing on April 30, Kumar initially told the court that he would refrain from making any further defamatory comments. However, his counsel declined to issue an apology, arguing that the statements were not directed personally at Dhar. The matter was later mentioned again before the court, following which Kumar formally apologised, leading to the settlement of the dispute.
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