Bombay High Court Declines Urgent Relief In Phantom Studios' Suit Against JioStar Over 'Queen' Remake

Justice Gauri Godse was hearing an interim application filed by Phantom Studios in its suit claiming 50 per cent joint ownership of intellectual property rights in the film.

Counsel for Phantom Studios argued there was extreme urgency, since JioStar was likely to release the film or create third-party rights in it.

The studio pointed to media reports from early 2025 that had prompted correspondence between the parties and to a media interview given by the film's lead actress on July 1, 2026, stating that shooting had wrapped up.

Senior Advocate Ravi Kadam, appearing for JioStar, submitted that the company had already replied to Phantom's legal notice in April 2026, and sought time to file a reply to the interim application.

The Court declined to grant ad-interim relief.

It noted that Phantom's own pleadings showed it had been aware of the film since early 2025, and found no urgency pleaded in the plaint or the application that would justify urgent relief without first hearing the defendants.

It also held that the lead actress's July 1 interview was not part of the pleadings and could not be considered at this stage.

The court directed the defendants to file their reply within two weeks and listed the matter for August 4, 2026.

For Phantom Studios: Shyam Kapadia a/w. Rohan Dakshini, Nikita Mishra & Nishi Doshi i/b. M/s. Rashmikant and Partners

For Defendants: Ravi Kadam, Senior Advocate a/w. R. Khandkear, Anand Mohan, Ameet Naik, Madhu Gadvdia, Vivek Dwivedi, Sakshi Dube, Fatima Ali i/b. Anand & Naik for the Defendant No. 1; Vikramaditya Chavan a/w. Udita Chavan for the Defendant No. 2.