Delhi High Court Moves to Protect 'Taarak Mehta' Content from Misuse

The Delhi High Court has ordered a halt on the unauthorized use of the name, characters, and content from the popular TV show 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah'. The producers claimed entities were misusing the characters for commercial gains, including explicit content. The court's interim order mandates the removal of such content within 48 hours.

The Delhi High Court has issued an injunction against the unauthorized use of the name, characters, and content from the popular television show 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah'.

The show, which has been on air for over 16 years with approximately 4,000 episodes, has been the target of various entities using its name and images for commercial gain, including selling merchandise and posting 'sexually explicit and vulgar' videos on YouTube. The producers, Neela Film Productions Pvt Ltd, claimed they hold statutory rights over several registered trademarks related to the show and its characters.

Justice Mini Pushkarna, in an interim order, stated that if an ex-parte ad interim injunction was not granted, the plaintiff would suffer irreparable loss. The court's order, passed on August 14, restricts certain entities from using the show's copyrighted material or registered trademarks. Furthermore, YouTube videos featuring the show's content, including pornographic material, are to be brought down, and in case of non-compliance within 48 hours, the IT Ministry and the Department of Telecom will suspend all related links or videos.

The court also granted the plaintiff the liberty to notify YouTube to block or suspend infringing links and directed the platform to provide details of the offending uploaders.

(With inputs from agencies.)