Case Law Details
Ramgopal Varma and Another Vs Perumalla Amrutha (Telangana High Court)
No doubt a person undoubtedly has a right to privacy in relation to her family, marriage, procreation, motherhood and child-bearing and none can publish anything concerned with these matters without his/her consent.
Yet, there is an exception to the said rule i.e., that any publication concerning these aspects would become unobjectionable if such publication is based upon public records including court records. In other words, once the matter becomes a matter of public record, the right to privacy is no longer subsisting and it becomes a legitimate subject for comment for press and media among others. There are of course some exceptions to this exception, with which were not concerned.
When the events which occurred in the life of the respondent are already in public domain, she cannot plead any violation of right of privacy by the appellants in making a movie based on such events. The Trial court did not consider this aspect of the matter i.e information already being in public domain while passing the impugned order. So it’s order cannot be sustained.
It cannot be denied that if any movie is made by specifically referring to her name, her husband’s name and her father’s name, much pain and anguish would be caused to the respondent, but, since the appellants have assured through their Senior Counsel that they would not use the name of the respondent, her deceased husband or her deceased father in the movie ‘Murder’ being made by them, we accept the said undertaking.
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