Mumbai/Panaji, May 9: The Bombay High Court has restrained the further circulation of certain statements made in a video allegedly defamatory to House of Abhinandan Lodha Private Limited (HOABL), observing that the material placed before the court warranted interim protection until the next date of hearing.

Justice Arif S. Doctor passed the order while hearing an interim application filed by HOABL and another petitioner against Goa-based activist Swapnesh Sherlekar and others in connection with allegedly defamatory statements contained in “Exhibit-L” of the plaint.

Senior Advocate Dr. Veerendra Tulzapurkar, appearing for the plaintiffs, argued that the statements had caused grave harm to the reputation of the company and were being widely disseminated through public platforms and media.

Appearing for respondent Swapnesh Sherlekar, Advocate Akash Rebello opposed the plea for urgent interim relief and submitted that the statements were linked to a matter of public interest connected with litigation pending before the Goa Bench of the High Court. He further argued that the statements were based on material available with the defendant and questioned why the matter was filed before the Bombay High Court when the alleged cause of action had arisen in Goa.

During the hearing, the defence also informed the court that the particular video referred to in the plaint was allegedly not made by Sherlekar but by one Nikita Pednekar, who, though mentioned in the plaint, had not been made a party to the proceedings.

Following this, the plaintiffs sought liberty to amend the plaint and implead Nikita Pednekar as a party in the suit.

The High Court granted permission to amend the plaint within one week and directed that the amended copy be served on all defendants. The defendants have been granted three weeks thereafter to file their reply affidavit.

Pending the next hearing, the court directed that the statements contained in Exhibit-L to the plaint “shall not further be disseminated to the public at large.”

The matter has now been posted for further hearing on July 2, 2026.