FIR against 'Scam 1992' by Pune bank; makers gets temporary relief from Bombay High Court

Sony Pictures Network India has moved the Bombay High Court in connection with a First Information Report (FIR) registered against the company. The production house, which owns the SonyLiv app, sought that the FIR, which had been filed on a complaint by Karad Urban Co-Operative Bank, be dismissed and requested an interim stay on the probe into the FIR over the use of the bank's logo that 'damaged' its reputation. The court has directed the police to not take any coercive action against the makers till Monday.

Scam 1992 makers move Bombay High Court over FIR

Sony Live Channels, Applause Entertainment and two YouTube channels had been booked by Pune Police under section 500 of the Indian Penal Code, the Trademark Act and the IT Act. In their complaint in July, Karad Urban Co-Operative Bank had alleged that the makers used their logo without permission for commercial gain. They claimed that the appearance of the bank's logo, hinting at their involvement with Harshad Mehta's scam in 1992,  had caused financial and social hardships for them. 

As per reports, in an urgent mentioning of its plea on Friday, Sony Pictures told the High Court that they were only streaming the show which has been owned and produce by Applause Entertainment, which was an adaptation of the book  The Scam: Who won, Who lost, Who got away. Calling the FIR 'baseless and absurd', it stated that a disclaimer against all liabilities towards the streaming of the show was displayed at the start of every episode of the series. It added that the FIR was filed for "ulterior motives", and that it was to coerce the makers into an undeserved settlement.

In the petition, the makers also clarified that the name Bank of Karaj used in the series was a pseudonym for Bank of Karad and that their alleged role in the scam was confirmed by the Reserve Bank of India.  They stated that there was no intention of the makers to malign the reputation of the bank 

Justices Sambhaji Shinde and Nijamoodin Jamadar urged the police to not take any coercive action till the next date of the hearing, which is on Monday.