Telgi family’s right to privacy ceased to exist: Web series makers

Mumbai: Applause Entertainment, the maker of a web series purportedly based on fake stamp paper scam convict Abdul Karim Telgi, on Friday submitted its reply to a defamation suit filed by Telgi’s daughter Sana Irfan Talikoti in the city civil court

Mumbai: Applause Entertainment, the maker of a web series purportedly based on fake stamp paper scam convict Abdul Karim Telgi, on Friday submitted its reply to a defamation suit filed by Telgi’s daughter Sana Irfan Talikoti in the city civil court.

Abdul Karim Telgi (left) and Gagan Dev Riar in Scam 2003: The Telgi Story.

The suit against Applause Entertainment, director Hansal Mehta, general manager Prasoon Garg and Sony Liv, an over-the-top (OTT) platform, claimed that the series will cause damage to the family’s reputation.

In her suit filed through advocate Madhav Thorat, Sana alleged that the series was based on a book, which had factual discrepancies and therefore was in violation of the family’s right to privacy, dignity and self- respect.

Opposing the suit, the company claimed that ample material exists in public domain regarding Telgi and the fake stamp paper scam. When the information is available in the public domain, the right to privacy ceases to exist and then such information/material become free for even commercial exploitation, it said.

Besides, the company claimed that, “Defamation is a personal right and not pre-emptive in nature. Without having seen the subject web-series (since it is not yet released) and without there being any basis, the plaintiffs have not been able to explain which aspect/content of the web series is defamatory.”

It was also claimed that the series is based on a book which has been in public domain since 2004 and the family failed and neglected to object to its contents. Besides, the producer of the web series said, the family itself had given rights to a film producer to make a film based on Telgi’s life.

The matter has been listed for the next hearing on January 25.

According to the investigating agencies, Telgi had purchased printing machinery being sold in scrap from the government security press at Nashik, printed counterfeit stamp papers and sold the same at discounted rates between 1993 and 2002.

The scam that ran into hundreds of crores of rupees was unearthed with Telgi’s arrest in 2001. Subsequent investigations revealed he had links with politicians and senior police and other government officers. In all, around 40 criminal cases were registered against Telgi in 11 states, including Maharashtra.

Telgi, who was convicted in a number of cases registered against him, died due to multiple organ failure in Bengaluru jail in October 2017.