Delhi court stops sale, circulation of book on Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor

A Delhi court has injuncted the sale or circulation of a book on the founder and former managing director of Yes Bank, Rana Kapoor [Rana Kapoor v Harper Collins India Pvt Ltd & Ors]..The book "Yes Man: The Untold Story of Rana Kapoor” is written by journalist Pavan C Lall and published through HarperCollins. The book was released in December 2020.In an interim order passed on July 10, District Judge Naresh Kumar Laka of the Tis Hazari Court held that Kapoor has, prima facie, been able to establish that the book harms his reputation and is not completely based on facts.The order will remain in force till the court decides Kapoor’s defamation suit against the publisher and the author.“The balance of convenience will also lie in favour of the plaintiff because, the reputation of the plaintiff [Rana Kapoor] once defamed in the eyes of reader of the book, it cannot be reversed back, if the plaintiff finally succeeds in the present case whereas the defendant will have only monetary loss only which is not greater than the reputation of the plaintiff because there is a general saying that “It takes long years to build a reputation for a person/institution but it just takes a moment to spoil it,” the Court said.It, therefore, restrained HarperCollins and Lall from selling, distributing or circulating the book in any manner.The Court also ordered removal of articles titled “No real clue What Rana Kapoor told me when I asked him why Yes Bank failed" and “Yes Man-New book maps Yes Bank's rise and fall through the story of Rana Kapoor”. They were published on news platform The Print.Judge Laka also restrained the defendants from making any defamatory statement against Kapoor..The Court passed the order on a defamation suit filed by Kapoor.The former banker argued that the book would directly affect his life, profession, and the ongoing investigations against him.He said that the combined reading of the book, articles, and contents of the interview reveal Lall’s propensity to “dubiously analyse” Rana’s "thoughts" and "psychology" and cast “unfounded/baseless aspersions on his business career and family life”.Meanwhile, HarperCollins argued that the statements complained of, are not defamatory in the light of publicly available material about Kapoor who is a public figure and has been covered by various news articles about the pending criminal proceedings against him.The publisher contended that there is no averment that any third person had read the book that tarnished Kapoor’s image because such a pleading is a sine qua non for a claim of defamation..Advocate Naman Joshi appeared for Rana Kapoor.Advocates Swathi Sukumar, Ashima, Akanksha Dua, Yogita Rathore and Ritik Raghuwanshi represented HarperCollins.Author Pavan C Lall and other defendants were proceeded ex parte..[Read Order]