Court bars Abhinav Kashyap from making derogatory statements against Salman

A Mumbai court on Friday temporarily barred filmmaker Abhinav Kashyap from making or publishing derogatory comments against Salman Khan and family saying freedom of speech doesnt mean one can use abusive and threatening language against any individualJudge P G Bhosale passed the adinterim exparte injunction against Kashyap and two others while hearing a defamation lawsuit filed by the actor The suit filed in a civil court against Kashyap and several others has sought a permanent injunction and Rs 9 crore in damagesThe legal action was initiated by Khan in the wake of a series of 26 video interviews and podcasts released between September and December 2025 The suit claimed Kashyap made scandalous false and grossly defamatory statements against Khan and his family in these videos Besides Kashyap Khushboo Hazare and major social media platforms have been named in the suitAccording to the suit these videos broadcast on Bollywood Thikana channel contain derogatory remarks that target Khans professional integrity and personal character as well as his family membersSome of the statements highlighted in the suit include Kashyaps alleged reference to the Khan family as convicted criminals and jihadi ecosystem members It also cited instances where Kashyap used offensive language to describe Khans appearance age and personal life and allegedly compared him to notorious criminalsSpecific derogatory remarks were reportedly made against the actors father Salim Khan and siblings Arbaaz Khan and Sohail Khan the plea claimedThe lawsuit filed through advocate Pradeep Gandhi has sought to permanently restrain the defendants from publishing any further defamatory content or interviewsIt also pleaded for directions to the defendants and social media platforms to immediately remove all the contentious contents and tender an unconditional apologyKhan also moved the court for urgent interim reliefThe court after perusal of Kashyaps statements in the interview given on the podcast found they are prima facie defamatory derogatory abusive and insulting in nature These statements lower the image of the plaintiff in the eyes of the general public the court saidIt asserted the reputation of the plaintiff Salman is harmed by the defendantsFurther the court underscored that nobody can and nobody should make any defamatory statements against anybodys familyEach individual has his privacy to be protected and image to be protected the court addedOn the contention of freedom of speech and expression the court clarified the right to freedom of speech and expression doesnt mean that one can use abusive and threatening language against any individualIt then temporarily restrained Kashyap and others from making uploading videos posting reposting giving interviews corresponding communicating uploading printing publishing republishing hosting circulating or recirculating any further defamatoryslanderous contentIt also barred them from making any further defamatory contents derogatory remarks posts messages tweets videos interviews communications in relation to the plaintiff or his family on any social media platforms till they appear and file their replyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever