JOIN USJustice S J Vazifdar refused to grant relief to a suit filed by former naval officer Emile Jerome, who was convicted in the 2008 murder case, seeking stay on the release of the controversy-ridden movie stating that it would hamper his appeal which is pending before the High Court.
Kannada actress Maria Susairaj, a co-accused who was convicted on a lighter charge of destruction of evidence had also intervened and sought injunction on the movie's release.
The movie directed by Varma and starring Mahi Gill as Susairaj, is scheduled to release on August 19.
Jerome in his suit had claimed that the movie would create a stigma and destroy his life and diminish his chances of rehabilitations.
Advocates Veerendra Tulzapurkar and Vibhav Krishna, appearing for the producer of the film, argued that the prints of the movie have been already sent to the distributor for nationwide release and cannot be called back.
"The film was announced in April 2011 and has been widely publicised since June 2011 with disclaimer that it is a work of fiction and not based on any story or incident," they argued.
The court accepting the arguments refused to stay the release of the movie. While Jerome was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, Susairaj was sentenced to three years. She is out of jail as she has served the period during trial. Both have appealed against their conviction in High Court.