Supreme Court Quashes Copyright Infringement Case Against Sujoy Ghosh Over Kahaani 2

Filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh has got relief in the copyright infringement case against him over his 2016 film Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh. The Supreme Court on Friday (March 20, 2026) quashed the proceedings pending against Ghosh before a Jharkhand court in the alleged copyright case, filed under Section 63 of the Copyright Act, 1957.

Sujoy Ghosh gets relief in Kahaani 2 copyright case

Writer Umesh Mehta had accused Ghosh of plagiarising the script of Kahaani 2. He alleged that the filmmaker used his script Sabak to make Kahaani 2, which is a copyright violation.

The Supreme Court allowed the petition filed by Ghosh seeking to quash the copyright case, on the allegation that his movie Kahaani 2 was based on a stolen script.

A bench of Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe quashed the criminal proceedings against the National award-winning director, pending before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, reported Live Law.

About Kahaani 2 infringement case

Umesh Prasad Mehta filed the complaint before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Hazaribagh, where he alleged that he had handed over the script of Sabak to Ghosh in June 2015 to get a recommendation letter from him to register the script with a film producer. The complainant claimed that his script was used to make Kahaani 2, which starred Vidya Balan in the lead.

Ghosh, denying the allegations, said that he had started writing the script of Kahaani 2 in November 2012 and had registered the final draft with the Screen Writers Association in December 2013. He also denied meeting Mehta or receiving his script.

The High Court had refused to quash the proceedings, following which Ghosh filed a plea in the Supreme Court.

"The Impugned Order sets a dangerous precedent where criminal process against an honest film-maker can be initiated based on self-serving allegations without making out any case of copyright infringement. This is contrary to the established legal principles regarding issuance of process under Section 200-204 of the CrPC," the petition stated, calling the complaint a tool of harassment.

Ghosh also contended that when the script of his film was registered two years before the registration of the script of Sabak, there cannot be any basis for the allegation of copyright infringement.