Sujoy Ghosh Vs The State of Jharkhand

Introduction:The Supreme Court of India has delivered a strong message to filmmakers and copyright claimants: criminal proceedings cannot be started lightly just because someone feels their story idea was copied. In a clear and well-reasoned judgment, the Court completely quashed a criminal case filed against renowned director and screenwriter Sujoy Ghosh, the creator of the blockbuster film “Kahaani” and its sequel “Kahaani-2: Durga Rani Singh”. The complainant had accused Ghosh of stealing his script “Sabak” and making the film without permission. The Supreme Court found that the entire case was baseless, frivolous, and an abuse of the legal process. This ruling protects creative artists from harassment through false criminal complaints and reminds magistrates that they must carefully apply their mind before summoning anyone in a copyright case. It is especially important for the film industry, where ideas and scripts are often similar but independent creation is common.

Factual Background:Sujoy Ghosh is a well-known film director and screenwriter. He made the hit film “Kahaani” which released in March 2012 and won him a National Award for Best Screenplay in 2013. Later, he developed the sequel “Kahaani-2: Durga Rani Singh”. He had already registered the first half of its script with the Screen Writers Association (SWA) on 10 October 2013. The full script was also registered by December 2013 under different working titles. The film was released in December 2016.

A complainant from Hazaribagh claimed that he met Ghosh in Mumbai on 29 June 2015, gave him a copy of his own script titled “Sabak”, and later registered it with SWA on 31 July 2015. After watching “Kahaani-2”, he felt the film copied his script. He first complained to SWA, which set up an expert committee. In February 2018, the SWA experts compared both works and clearly said there was no similarity at all; they rejected the complaint. Despite this expert finding, the complainant filed a criminal complaint before the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Hazaribagh, accusing Ghosh and another person of copyright theft under Sections 63, 65 and 65A of the Copyright Act, 1957, and extortion under Section 387 of the Indian Penal Code. He alleged that most scenes in the film were taken from his script.

Procedural Background:The SWA expert committee had already dismissed the claim before the magistrate took up the case. The magistrate recorded statements of the complainant’s brother and cousin and, in June 2018, issued summons against Ghosh without giving any detailed reasons or mentioning the SWA report. Ghosh then approached the Jharkhand High Court under Section 482 of the CrPC to get the criminal case quashed, arguing that the complaint was false and the magistrate had not applied his mind. The High Court refused and said the truth should be tested only at trial. Ghosh finally approached the Supreme Court through a Special Leave Petition, which was converted into a Criminal Appeal. The Supreme Court heard the matter and delivered its judgment on 20 March 2026.

Reasoning:The Supreme Court carefully examined the complaint, the statements of witnesses, the summoning order, and all surrounding facts. It found that the complaint only made vague and general statements like “most scenes were based on complainant’s script” without pointing out even a single specific scene, dialogue, or plot point that was copied. There was no material to show any similarity. The Court noted that the complainant had deliberately hidden the SWA expert committee’s order which had already ruled there was no similarity. This concealment itself showed the complaint was not honest.

Even more importantly, Ghosh had registered his script years before the complainant ever wrote or registered “Sabak”. The Court observed that Ghosh’s work existed in 2012-2013 while the complainant’s script came only in 2015, so copying was impossible. The magistrate’s summoning order was described as mechanical and passed without any real application of mind. The High Court had also failed to notice these glaring defects. The Supreme Court held that criminal law cannot be set in motion casually; summoning an accused is a serious step and the magistrate must satisfy himself that a real offence is prima facie made out. When proceedings are clearly frivolous and vexatious, courts must step in under Section 482 CrPC to stop the harassment.

The Supreme Court  observed that a magistrate cannot issue summons mechanically; he must carefully look at the material and even question the complainant if needed to check if the allegations are true.

The final decision of court:The Supreme Court allowed Sujoy Ghosh’s appeal. It quashed the summoning order passed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate on 07 June 2018, the High Court order dated 22 April 2025, and the entire criminal proceedings in Complaint Case No.1267 of 2017 pending before the CJM, Hazaribagh. Ghosh and the co-accused were discharged completely. No costs were awarded.

Point of law settled in the case:This judgment settles that in criminal complaints for copyright infringement, the magistrate must find prima facie evidence of actual copying or similarity before issuing summons; a mere general allegation is not enough. An independent expert body’s finding of no similarity (even if not binding) is a strong circumstance that the court must consider. When the accused’s work was created and registered much earlier than the complainant’s, the charge of theft becomes impossible. Concealment of material facts like an expert rejection order makes the complaint malicious and liable to be quashed. Most importantly, criminal law cannot be used as a tool to harass creative persons through vexatious proceedings; courts have a duty to quash such cases at the earliest stage under Section 482 CrPC to prevent abuse of process.

Case Title: Sujoy Ghosh Vs The State of Jharkhand & anr 

Date of Order: 20 March 2026

Case No. SLP (Crl.) No. 9452 of 2025

Neutral Citation: 2026 INSC 267

Name of court: Supreme Court of India

Name of Hon'ble Judge: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Alok Aradhe (author) with Hon'ble Mr. Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha

Disclaimer:Readers are advised not to treat this as substitute for legal advise as it may contain errors in perception, interpretation, and presentation

Written By: Advocate Ajay Amitabh Suman, IP Adjutor [Patent and Trademark Attorney], High Court of Delhi

Suggested Titles

Supreme Court Quashes Criminal Case Against “Kahaani” Director Sujoy Ghosh – Copyright Complaint Called Frivolous

No Similarity, No Case: Supreme Court Protects Filmmaker from False Copyright Theft Allegations in Kahaani-2 Dispute

Creative Freedom Wins: SC Says Vague Script Theft Claims and Copyright Criminal Complaints

Suggested Tags

Supreme Court of India, Sujoy Ghosh, Kahaani-2, Copyright Infringement, Frivolous Complaint, Section 482 CrPC, Film Script Theft, SWA Expert Committee, Quashing of Proceedings, Abuse of Process

Headnote of Article

Supreme Court quashes entire criminal proceedings against director Sujoy Ghosh in Kahaani-2 copyright case, holding that vague allegations without proof of similarity, concealment of SWA expert rejection, and prior registration by the filmmaker make the complaint manifestly frivolous and an abuse of law.