In a significant judicial move, a Delhi court has imposed a ban on the sale and distribution of “Yes Man: The Untold Story of Rana Kapoor,” a book chronicling the rise and fall of Yes Bank’s founder and former managing director, Rana Kapoor.
Published by HarperCollins and penned by journalist Pavan C Lall, the book was released in December 2020. The interim order, issued on July 10 by District Judge Naresh Kumar Laka of the Tis Hazari Court, supports Kapoor’s claim that the book potentially damages his reputation and contains information not entirely factual.
This order stands until the court delivers a verdict on Kapoor’s defamation lawsuit against the publisher and the author. The judge emphasized that reputational harm, once done, is irreversible, outweighing any financial losses the defendants might incur from the book’s ban.
Consequently, HarperCollins and Lall are prohibited from selling, distributing, or circulating the book. Additionally, the court has mandated the removal of articles related to the book published on The Print, specifically “No real clue: What Rana Kapoor told me when I asked him why Yes Bank failed” and “Yes Man-New book maps Yes Bank’s rise and fall through the story of Rana Kapoor.”
The lawsuit, initiated by Kapoor, asserts that the book could adversely impact his personal and professional life amid ongoing investigations. Kapoor argued that Lall’s portrayal of his thoughts and actions is dubious and casts unwarranted aspersions on his career and family.
HarperCollins countered that the content in question is not defamatory, given the existing public material on Kapoor, a figure embroiled in numerous criminal proceedings. They also argued that there was no evidence of any third party having read the book and subsequently tarnished Kapoor’s image, a necessary condition for a defamation claim.
The legal representation for Kapoor included Advocate Naman Joshi, while HarperCollins was defended by Advocates Swathi Sukumar, Ashima, Akanksha Dua, Yogita Rathore, and Ritik Raghuwanshi. The defendants, including author Pavan C Lall, were proceeded ex parte.
