Hyderabad court restrains Rapido’s Allu Arjun ad defaming TSRTC

Hyderabad: A city court has restrained app-based bike taxi aggregator Rapido from telecasting and promoting itself through a commercial which shows the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation in poor light. The Xth Junior Civil Judge of the City Civil Court, Nampally on Friday restrained Rapido and its successors, directors, employees, servants, agents, representatives, from telecasting, […]

Hyderabad: A city court has restrained app-based bike taxi aggregator Rapido from telecasting and promoting itself through a commercial which shows the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation in poor light.

The Xth Junior Civil Judge of the City Civil Court, Nampally on Friday restrained Rapido and its successors, directors, employees, servants, agents, representatives, from telecasting, broadcasting, streaming, reproducing, distributing, making available to the public and or communicating to the public the ‘original and modified’ versions of the ad film, which features Telugu actor Allu Arjun, on their websites or through the internet in any manner.

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The Court also directed Google’s online video sharing platform YouTube to block access to the original and modified version of the commercial video.

Rapido was airing ads in which Allu Arjun was seen suggesting that it was ‘uncomfortable and dangerous’ to travel in TSRTC buses by directly showing a TSRTC bus which was hired by Rapido for the commercial.

Upon being issued a notice by TSRTC, Rapido slightly modified the ad films but continued to display the TSRTC bus.

Since they refused to stop airing the ads on various channels and YouTube, TSRTC approached the Court, where it argued that while Rapido was entitled to promote its services, it could not do so by making defamatory statements about TSRTC or public transport.

With the court restraining any form of sharing of the ad, anybody found flouting the orders would be liable to be prosecuted.

TSRTC Managing Director VC Sajjanar, reacting to the court order said the TSRTC was a State-run decades old corporation serving the transportation needs of lakhs of people each day.

“It is our social asset and everyone should own it up as their own and help maintain its smooth functioning and not defame it in any manner whatsoever,” he said.

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