The Bombay city civil court today passed an interim order restraining Kamaal R Khan from making comments through videos, tweets or any other form, directly or indirectly, on Salman Khan, his business ventures or his films, including Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai (2021).
The order was passed in connection with the defamation suit filed by Salman Khan against Kamaal R Khan, better known by his initials KRK, seeking damages to the tune of Rs90 lakh for alleged slander.
The order was passed by additional sessions judge CV Marathe on a notice of motion filed by Salman Khan's counsel.
The legal news website, BarandBench.com, quoted the order as stating, 'A good name is better than riches. Reputation is a sort of right to enjoy good opinion of others, and it is a personal right and an injury to the reputation is personal injury. A good reputation is an element of personal security and is protected by the Constitution equally with the right to enjoyment of life.'
The dispute arose after KRK's review of Salman Khan's latest film Radhe was posted on social media. Salman objected to the manner and content of the video and filed a defamation suit against the one-time actor.
While Salman maintained that the suit was filed on account of the alleged defamatory remarks made by KRK and not the review itself, the latter claimed that Salman was threatening him through legal action. Salman later also sought contempt action against Kamaal Khan for his tweets despite the defamation suit.
The judge noted that reputation 'is not only a salt of life, but the purest treasure and the most precious perfume of life'.
Representing Salman Khan, advocate Pradeep Gandhy noted that Kamaal Khan has been a 'habitual offender' and had previously posted videos and tweets against Salman. Kamaal Khan's counsel, advocate Manoj Gadkari, stated that his comments were 'fair criticism' and invoked his right to free speech.
Kamaal R Khan has previously been warned by courts in similar cases of slander filed by producers Vashu Bhagnani and Nikhil Dwivedi and actress Richa Chadha.