Delhi Court refuses to pass injunction on publication, sale of HarperCollins book on Asaram Bapu

A Delhi Court last week refused to entertain a plea seeking interim injunction against publication and sale of a HarperCollins’ book titled "Gunning for the Godman: The True Story Behind Asaram Bapu's Conviction" [Sanchita Gupta v Scroll Media]..The order came to be passed by Judge Sudhanshu Kaushik of the Patiala House Courts in a suit filed by the plaintiff in September 2020 along with an application for injunction on the ground that the book contained defamatory statements against her..The judge observed that the Delhi High Court had in an order dated September 22, 2020 passed detailed directions to balance the rights of the parties during the pendency of the suit and the same was passed on merits after hearing the all the parties dealing with all the respective contentions..The Court said that since the arguments raised before it were similar to the arguments before the High Court, it would be a matter of judicial impropriety to re-examine these contentions and this was forbidden in view of the doctrine of merger."It would be judicial impropriety to re-appreciate these aspects at this stage for considering whether an injunction needs to be granted during the pendency of the suit," the order said..The book's subject matter surrounds godman Asaram Bapu, who was convicted in 2018 by a special POCSO court for sexually assaulting a minor girl. The plaintiff was the warden of an ashram run by the godman and was also convicted for committing offences punishable under Indian Penal Code. She had appealed the conviction and the Rajasthan High Court suspended her conviction while it decided the appeal. .She, therefore, instituted this suit against the publication of the book alleging that it contained false and defamatory statements that would damage her reputation.She alleged that the book as well as the articles published by defendants portrayed her in poor light and had dented her reputation in the eyes of her acquaintances and public at large..On September 4, 2020 an ex-parte interim injunction was granted in the plaintiff's favour. However, HarperCollins filed an appeal against the injunction in the Delhi High Court wherein the interim order was reversed and HarperCollins was permitted to publish the book along with a disclaimer..Judge Kaushik discussed the logic underlining the doctrine of merger, stating that there can not be more than one decree or operative orders governing the same subject matter at a given point of time. "It is the decree or the order of the superior court which is final and operative...The doctrine of merger applies to judgments as well as orders passed by the superior forum. The order of the lower court merges with the order of the superior courts irrespective of the fact whether the order has been modified, reserved or affirmed by the superior forum," the Court said.."Accordingly, the application under Order XXXIX Rule 1 & 2 of CPC stands disposed off in terms of order dated 22.09.2020 passed by the High Court of Delhi," the court thus ordered..However, it was clarified the observations made in the present order are only for the purpose of adjudicating the prayer whether an injunction should be granted during the pendency of the suit.The observations shall have no bearing on the outcome of the trial, the order added..The plaintiff was represented by advocates Vijay Aggarwal, Naman Joshi and Karan Khanuja while HarperCollins was represented by advocates Swathi Sukumar, Ashima Obhan, Akanksha Dua and Naveen Nagarjuna..[Read Order]