A class of persons cannot be defamed as a class, nor can an individual be defamed by general reference to the class to which he belongs.

JUDGMENT

Sanjeev Sachdeva, J. - Ia No. 3754/2020 (under Order 39 Rule 1 & 2)

1. The hearing was conducted through video conferencing.

2. Plaintiff is an advocate by profession. Subject suit has been filed by the Plaintiff, inter alia seeking a decree of permanent injunction against the defendants further airing or streaming of the episodes of Web-Series (TV show) "Hasmukh" particularly Episode 4 of Season 1.

3. As per the Plaintiff, said episode contains derogatory remarks against the entire legal fraternity. It is contended that the intent of the plaintiff is not to highlight defamation of an individual but to restrain the defendants from webcasting, passing derogatory remarks, casting aspersions, making scandalous statements / comments on the Legal community.

4. It is submitted that the remarks are not humorous nor come across as a joke and are not even near to any satire nor within the boundaries of a critique. The dialogue with regard to which the subject suit has been filed is: "Aisa pehla shehar dekha hai humne jahan chor bhi bade ameer hote hain. Lekin yahan unka naam chor nahin ''vakeel'' hota hai. Aapke Vakeel sabse bade kamine aur chor hote hain. Ye kanoon ke thekedaar jo kabhi nahin honge giraftaar, kyunki ye kalam ke saath karte hain balatkaar. Are bhaiya, log kehte hain ki kanoon andha hota hai, main kehta hoon kanoon ganda hota hai, kyunki har vakeel ke haath mein chota sa itna danda hota hai."

"This is the first city I have seen where even the thieves are rich. But out here, they''re called lawyers. Your lawyers are the biggest scoundrels and thieves. These so-called upholders of law will never be brought to justice because they rape you with their pen. People say the law is blind. But I say the law is dirty because every lawyer carries a little stick in his hand. "

5. It is contended by the plaintiff that the dialogue is highly disparaging, defamatory and bring disrepute to the legal profession and lawyers in the eyes of general public and are a constant stigma on the image of lawyers and a constant source of annoyance to the plaintiff and have lowered the image of lawyers and the plaintiff amongst the public at large.

6. Defendants entered appearance on an advance notice. The application was taken up for consideration at the request of the parties without calling for any formal reply.

7. It is contended by Learned Senior Counsels appearing for the Defendants that in view of the settled legal position, Plaintiff has failed to show any prima facie case and has not been able to even show any personal injury or violation of any right entitling him to grant of any injunction.

8. It is submitted on behalf of the Defendants that the theme/Plot of the web-series - ''Hasmukh'' as described in the Written Submissions filed by Defendant No. 1 and 2 inter alia is:

(i) The Web-Series is a dark comedy about a small-town comedian namely ''Hasmukh'' (''Protagonist'') who arrives at Mumbai to pursue his career in stand-up comedy on television shows. In the said Web-Series, the Protagonist has been shown to have a unique trait whereby he can only successfully perform his stand-up comedy act, if he commits murders prior to his performances and makes satirical jokes in relation to his murder victims during such performances. As per the storyline of the said Series, in order to address his need to kill in a righteous way, the Protagonist therefore kills only evil and debauched persons from various fields and professions that he comes across in his life and then performs satirical jokes/remarks in relation to his experience with such victims in his stand-up comic act.

(ii) Accordingly, the Protagonist has been shown to commit murders in almost every episode of the Web-Series and later perform his stand-up comic act in relation to his victims who are unethical professionals belonging to various fields/professions. In this manner, the Protagonist has been portrayed to deal with evil in various walks of life and its impact on society.