The legal tussle involving Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar The Revenge has, for the time being, reached a resolution after the Bombay High Court disposed of a defamation case. The development came after filmmaker Santosh Kumar formally apologised for his earlier public remarks.
The dispute traces back to March 2026, when Kumar accused Dhar of lifting the storyline for Dhurandhar The Revenge from his own script titled D-Saheb. He claimed that his script had been officially registered with the Screenwriters Association in 2023. These allegations were made during a press conference, following which Dhar approached the High Court, arguing that the statements were defamatory and had harmed his professional reputation.
As reported by Live Law, the matter was heard by a single-judge bench presided over by Justice Arif Doctor, who ultimately closed the case after Kumar issued an unconditional apology in court.
The official order recorded that Kumar’s counsel submitted the apology for statements made during the March 30, 2026 press interaction. Dhar’s legal representative informed the court that, in view of the apology, his client no longer wished to continue pursuing the defamation suit or seek damages. Accepting the apology, Dhar agreed that the matter could be concluded, leading the court to dispose of the case, noting that no further issues remained to be addressed.
While this brings an end to the defamation proceedings, the court clarified that Kumar retains the right to initiate separate legal action regarding his claim over the script. The ruling explicitly stated that any future proceedings on the issue of authorship would be independent and unaffected by the current order.
During earlier hearings, the court had encouraged both parties to settle the matter amicably and refrain from escalating tensions. Although Kumar was initially reluctant to issue a formal apology, he eventually agreed, paving the way for the dispute’s resolution.
For now, the defamation case stands closed, but the larger question surrounding the ownership of the story remains unresolved and could potentially lead to fresh litigation in the future.
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