Footwear company Bata India Limited on Monday welcomed a magisterial court order that has issued summons to the team of Bollywood movie "Jolly LLB-2", including actors Akshay Kumar and Annu Kapoor, Director Subhash Kapoor and its producers, in a defamation case.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sandeep Garg, in an order last week, has issued summons to "Jolly LLB-2" producer Fox Star Studios India Private Limited, executive producer Naren Kumar, Subhash Kapoor, actors Annu Kapoor and Akshay Kumar, and others asking them to appear in court on February 22.
Bata said that it took very serious note of the derogatory and defamatory reference to the footwear company.
In a press statement, Bata stated that it has filed a criminal defamation case against the team of "Jolly LLB-2" for using derogatory remarks and defamatory reference to Bata as a brand in the first official trailer of the movie.
"The official trailer had been trending and been watched rapidly over the internet and in theatres. The brand Bata has been deliberately shown in an extremely bad taste and the dialogue was intended to convey that the brand Bata is adorned only by lower strata of society and one should feel humiliated if one wears Bata footwear," the statement said.
The court has found prima facie offence under sections 500 (defamation) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code, which are made out against the accused persons and said that there is sufficient grounds to proceed against them.