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Sujoy Ghosh v. The State of Jharkhand

Criminal Appeal · 2026 INSC 267Decided 20 Mar 2026
Crl.A. No.-001499-001499 - 2026
Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha · Justice Alok Aradhe

Background

Sujoy Ghosh, director of the acclaimed film "Kahaani" and later "Kahaani-2: Durga Rani Singh," was accused by a complainant of stealing his script "Sabak" and using it to make "Kahaani-2." The complainant alleged he had shared his script with Ghosh in 2015 and that the film, released in December 2016, was based on it, filing both a dispute with the Screen Writers Association (SWA) and a criminal complaint under the Copyright Act and IPC before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Hazaribagh. The SWA's own expert Dispute Settlement Committee had already found no similarity between the film and the script and rejected the complaint in February 2018, but the CJM nonetheless summoned Ghosh, and the Jharkhand High Court declined to quash the proceedings.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court found that the complaint contained only bald, unsubstantiated allegations of copying without identifying any specific similar scene or feature, and that neither the complainant nor his witnesses ever pointed to what exactly was copied. Crucially, the complainant had concealed from the CJM the SWA expert committee's own finding of no similarity between the works. The Court also noted that Ghosh's script/synopsis for the "Kahaani-2" story was registered as early as 2012-2013, well before the complainant registered his own script in July 2015, meaning the complainant's script did not even exist when Ghosh's work was created, making infringement impossible. Finding the summoning order to be a mechanical exercise with no application of mind, the Court quashed the summoning order, the High Court's order, and the entire criminal complaint, allowing the appeal.

Lesson Learnt

Courts can and should quash criminal proceedings at the threshold when a complaint is vague, unsubstantiated, and where the complainant has concealed material facts (like an expert body's contrary finding) or where objective evidence (like prior registration dates) makes the alleged offence impossible: criminal law should not be used as a tool for frivolous or vexatious harassment.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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