An aviation firm has filed a ₹3 crore civil defamation suit against Bollywood actor Nora Fatehi. The firm, Dunes Aviation, claimed she called the company’s chartered aircraft a ‘Lego airplane’, damaging its reputation.
The case was filed at a Gandhinagar court for ‘s “derogatory and reckless” comments on social media.
Why Nora Fatehi facing Defamation case?
According to the suit, Fatehi recorded videos inside a Cessna Citation CJ2 aircraft in December last year during a Mumbai-Jaipur flight. In the clips, the actor described the aircraft as a ‘miniature’, a ‘toy’ and a ‘Lego airplane’, and posted them on her Instagram handle, PTI reported.
The company has alleged that the ‘reckless’ statements made by Fatehi triggered booking cancellations and hurt its commercial operations.
Who filed the defamation case against Nora Fatehi?
Dunes Aviation, which filed the case, said its aircraft was standard and ideally sized for the journey undertaken by the defendant. It added that the aircraft was fully certified by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and was airworthy.
The company said that the plane was lawfully operated under a valid Non-Scheduled Operator’s Permit (NSOP), which allows companies to run private charter flights.
It asked ,who has more than 4.6 crore followers, to pay ₹3 crore in damages.
When did Nora Fatehi make the controversial airplane remark?
Filed in April this year, the suit alleged that Fatehi’s statements were “reckless, irresponsible, and made without any technical knowledge, verification or factual basis”.
Dunes Aviation claimed that due to Fatehi’s substantial follower base, her ‘reckless statements’ have led to “serious reputational damage, loss of goodwill and adverse commercial impact”, including a 15-20% drop in bookings and an increase in cancellations.
The lawsuit also sought the court’s direction for immediate removal of all content from social media platforms that contained references to the aircraft, as well as a public clarification by Nora Fatehi.
Senior Civil Judge R Agarwal will hear the matter on September 25. So far, Nora Fatehi hasn’t responded to the case.
Nora Fatehi’s earlier controversies
Fatehi faced backlash earlier over her appearance in the Kannada song Sarke Chunar Teri Sarke. Fans slammed the track’s lyrics and choreography, forcing the makers to remove the song from YouTube.
Fatehi had issued a public apology over the song. The actor also announced plans to sponsor the education of orphaned girls, as per Mid-Day, calling it a way of giving back to society.