Cannot restrain callers, Madras HC tells student whose number shown as Sai Pallavi’s in ‘Amaran’
"If you want, I can direct the service provider to block all calls to you. Is that OK for you," the judge asked the petitioner
Madras HC: Poster of the film
CHENNAI: The court cannot restrain those making calls to the student, whose personal mobile phone number is shown as that of actor Sai Pallavi in the film ‘Amaran’, said the Madras High Court on Friday.
However, hearing the petition filed by an undergraduate student against 'Amaran' filmmakers for using his phone number in the film thus causing inconvenience to him, Justice S Sounthar directed the production house, Raajkamal Films International, director Rajkumar Periasamy, and Central Board of Film Certification to file a counter and posted the matter to December 20 for further proceedings.
Appearing for the production house, senior counsel Arvind Pandian submitted that the objectionable portion raised by the petitioner was removed from the film and his mobile number has also been masked. He also submitted the modified Censor Board certificate after making the changes in the film. After this, there was nothing survives in the case, he contended.
Petitioner’s advocate Munusamy responded that though the number was later masked in the film, the youth was still receiving phone calls.
At this point, the judge intervened and said, "The court cannot restrain the phone calls. If you want, I can direct the service provider to block all calls to you. Is that OK for you?" He further observed that nothing from the main plea of the case survived now.
The petitioner had sought to direct the service provider to give him the details of the calls received on the number. But the judge refused to issue the direction. The writ court cannot proceed further for the inconvenience faced by the petitioner, observed the judge, and suggested he work out a remedy available under common law. "Till your client retain the same mobile number, he will receive the calls," the judge said.
The court then issued notice to Bharti Airtel, the service provider, and directed all parties to file counters.
The petitioner, VV Vaageesan, a B Tech computer science student at a private college at Porur, claimed that ‘Amaran’, which was released worldwide on October 31, infringed his privacy by using his personal mobile number.
In the film, his mobile number is shown on the screen as the number of actor Sai Pallavi, who acted as the female lead. As a result, he was receiving innumerable phone calls from all over India and even from foreign countries round the clock since the release of the film, said the petitioner.
Because of this, he could not sleep, read, or focus on his studies, which was causing him mental trauma. Hence, to avoid the ordeal, he is forced to disconnect the mobile phone connection, he said.
The petitioner claimed that the film director Rajkumar Periasamy and the production house Raajkamal Films International were responsible for his ordeal, and he sought Rs 1.10 crore as cost for the agony he was undergoing. He also sought a direction to cancel the Censor Board certificate issued to the film, as it violated sections 5A and 5B of the Cinematograph Act, 1952.
Vaageesan also urged the court to restrain the film production house from screening the film in theatres or releasing it on OTT platforms until the petition was disposed of.
