The Bombay High Court has declined to grant urgent interim relief sought by Puja Films, now known as Puja Entertainment (India) Ltd, which had approached the court seeking orders against the release of the film Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai and the use of two songs featured in it.
The matter came up before Vacation Court Judge Farhan P Dubash on June 3. Puja Entertainment had filed an interim application seeking various urgent directions concerning the film, which is scheduled for theatrical release on June 5. The dispute specifically relates to two songs, Chunnari Chunnari and Ishq Sona Hai, which form part of the film’s soundtrack.
During the hearing, the court was informed that the plaintiff had already initiated legal proceedings in Bihar. Puja Entertainment had filed Title Suit No 137 of 2026 before the Civil Judge Senior Division at Katihar on April 27, seeking substantially similar reliefs concerning the same film and songs. In those proceedings, the trial court had granted an ex-parte ad-interim order on May 6 directing parties to maintain status quo.
The order triggered further litigation, with the defendants approaching the Patna High Court by filing a civil miscellaneous petition. The dispute eventually reached the Supreme Court. On May 22, the apex court stayed the Katihar court’s ex-parte order while directing that the pending proceedings before the Patna High Court be decided on their own merits.
Justice Dubash noted that the pleadings before the Bombay High Court did not disclose what transpired thereafter before the Patna High Court. Instead, the plaintiff stated that it had applied before the Bihar trial court seeking permission to withdraw the suit with liberty to initiate proceedings before the Bombay High Court. However, despite filing such an application more than a week earlier, no order permitting withdrawal had been obtained.
Appearing for defendants 1 to 6, senior advocate Ravi Kadam strongly opposed the plea. He submitted that the plaintiff had been aware of the film and its impending release since at least November 2025 but chose to approach the court at the eleventh hour. Kadam argued that the plaintiff was guilty of forum shopping and had failed to explain the delay in seeking relief.
The defendants further highlighted the massive scale of the film’s release. According to submissions recorded by the court, nearly 1,900 cinemas and about 3,000 screens across India had already been booked for the film. Additionally, approximately 725 cinemas and 1,100 screens in over 70 countries had been reserved for overseas screenings.
Senior advocate Ashish Kamat, appearing for another defendant, supported the objections and sought time to place the defendants’ response on record. Taking into account the pendency of the Bihar proceedings, the absence of any order permitting withdrawal of the earlier suit, the delay in approaching the Bombay High Court and the imminent worldwide release of the film, Justice Dubash held that the court was not inclined to entertain the urgent application. The court therefore declined to grant any immediate relief that could affect the release of the film or the two songs and directed that the matter be placed before the regular bench on June 8, 2026, with liberty to the defendants to file their replies before the next hearing.
