The Karnataka High Court, on Thursday, June 25, briefly heard an appeal filed by actor Darshan Thoogudeepa and his wife Vijayalakshmi Darshan challenging the vacation of an interim injunction that had earlier stalled the release of the Kannada film BOSS.
The matter came up before Justice Pradeep Singh Yerur. During the hearing, senior counsel Vivek Subba Reddy, appearing for Siri Productions, the film’s producer, gave an oral undertaking that the movie would not be released until June 30, providing temporary relief to the actor and his wife.
“We undertake not to release the movie until next Tuesday,” the counsel submitted to the court. The High Court accepted the undertaking and posted the matter for further hearing on June 30.
A Bengaluru trial court order in March had temporarily restrained the release of BOSS after Darshan approached the court alleging that the film draws inspiration from the ongoing Renukaswamy murder case involving him. The film was originally scheduled for release on April 14.
The defendants in the suit include the film’s director and producer, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) and several social media platforms.
On March 27, the trial court had granted an ad-interim injunction in favour of Darshan, but on May 2, it dismissed the stay application and vacated the ex-parte injunction, clearing the way for the film’s release.
In appeal before the High Court, Darshan has argued that the vacation of the injunction suffers from “manifest legal infirmities.” The plea contends that the trial court wrongly described the suit as based on “wild guessing and imagination,” while allegedly ignoring audiovisual material pointing to “thirteen parallels” between the film and real-life events, as well as the film’s “inspired by true events” claim.
The appellants further argue that the teaser’s portrayal would lead an ordinary viewer to associate the film with Darshan’s personal life and the criminal proceedings against him, thereby damaging his reputation and prejudicing his right to a fair trial.
Darshan, along with actress Pavithra Gowda and several others, is accused in the abduction and murder of 33-year-old Renukaswamy, who allegedly sent obscene messages to Gowda. According to police, the victim was allegedly held in a shed in Bengaluru for three days in June 2024, where he was tortured before being found dead in a drain.
The 1-minute trailer of BOSS is eerily similar to the Renukaswamy case.
They have also cited earlier court orders in their favour, including injunctions protecting confidential material from the charge sheet, alleging continued media trial and defamatory content across platforms.
The High Court has also recently directed the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) and the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) to act on complaints regarding a “media trial” against the actor.
Darshan and 16 others face charges including criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence, abduction, and murder. He was granted bail by the High Court in December 2024, which was later cancelled by the Supreme Court in August 2025.
