HC rejects Kher’s plea, suggests arbitration

December 20: The Bombay High Court today rejected Bollywood actor Anupam Kher's plea seeking directions to restrain Zee Telefilms Ltd from...

December 20: The Bombay High Court today rejected Bollywood actor Anupam Kher’s plea seeking directions to restrain Zee Telefilms Ltd from discontinuing him as the host of the gameshow Sawaal Dus Crore Ka and concluded that the dispute can be decided in an arbitration proceeding.

Justice K K Baam in her order said that since the contract between Zee and Kher specifically contains a clause for arbitration, the dispute could be resolved via this route. If the arbitration deems Kher’s termination as unlawful, the actor could file a suit for recovery of damages. Justice Baam refused to grant any relief and held that Kher was not a regular employee of Zee.

Justice Baam said that there was nothing in the contract which stated that Kher was to perform exclusively for Zee and as a popular actor, he could find work elsewhere. She added that while Zee had terminated the contract for reasons known it, Kher though being a good artiste cannot “compel” the channel to retain him.

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Kher had challenged the notice of December 9 served on him by Zee informing him of discontinuing him as host of the programme. His counsel, Janak Dwarkadas, said Zee could not terminate his services without giving him 60 days notice under the contract.

Zee’s counsel V Tulzapurkar countered that Kher was a bad performer and committed a breach of contract by telling the press that he was not interested in the show. Vehemently denying the charge, Kher said he had been made a scapegoat for the programme’s failure.

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