Mahesh Bhatt Picture Courtesy: Mid-day Archives
Swati Deshpande (THE TIMES OF INDIA; October 27, 2020)

Mumbai: In part interim relief for film makers Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt, Bombay High Court (HC) on Monday restrained actor Luviena Lodh from making and circulating any defamatory statements against them. Justice Anil Menon passed the interim order after recording Lodh’s lawyer Prashant Pandey’s statement that she had neither made nor would make any defamatory statements against the Bhatts.

The Bhatt brothers filed a civil suit in HC, seeking damages of Rs 2 crore from Lodh over alleged defamatory statements and an “unconditional apology’’ from her. The HC, however, passed no interim order at this stage for removal of a video which Bhatts’ alleged was defamatory against them, and gave Lodh three weeks to file a reply to the suit.

The Bhatts, through their counsel Venkatesh Dhond with Ameet Naik had sought urgent orders for its deletion and removal from social media online.

Pandey said that Lodh stands by her video and also added that she “fears for her life”.
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MUMBAI MIRROR (October 27, 2020)

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and his brother Mukesh Bhatt on Monday filed a defamation suit in the Bombay High Court against actor Luviena Lodh for making defamatory, slanderous and false allegations against them. The Bhatts have sought Rs 1 crore in damages from Lodh and also an order restraining her from making any such false claims in future.

Lodh, through her lawyer Prashant Pandey, assured the HC that she will not make any defamatory statements about them going forward. She, however, said that she stands by the “alleged defamatory” statements directed towards her husband.

Justice A K Menon directed her not to make any defamatory statements against them and also restrained her from further circulating the video uploaded on Instagram. The judge, however, refused to direct Lodh to remove the offending video from her Instagram account.

In the video, Lodh, who is fighting a matrimonial dispute with her husband Sumit Sabharwal, had alleged that he is Mahesh Bhatt’s nephew, and in the business of supplying drugs to actors and involved in human trafficking. She also alleged that Bhatt was aware of this.