Bombay HC rejects plea seeking stay on Mumbai Saga, permits release of John Abraham, Emraan Hashmi film on 19 March

The Bombay High Court on Thursday permitted the release of the Hindi film Mumbai Saga on 19 March, after refusing to allow a plea seeking a stay on the scheduled release. A bench of Justices Amjad Sayed and Nitin Jamdar refused to allow a plea filed by Ravi Mallesh Bohra known as gangster D K Rao in Mumbai’s underworld, and the family of late gangster Amar Naik. The bench said it could not grant relief to the petitioners, who had approached the court at the “11th hour”. The petitioners claimed that as per newspaper reports, the film was inspired by true events and was based on the lives of Bohra, Naik and his brother Ashwin Naik. The petitioners contended that the movie violated their right to privacy and a fair trial. A legal notice had been sent to the film’s producer and director, asking them to stop the release, since Bohra and Ashwin Naik were undertrial prisoners and the film would prejudice their pending trials and the sanctity of the judicial process, the petition stated.