The Madhya Pradesh High Court has rejected a petition filed by Siddiqua Begum Khan, daughter of Shah Bano Begum, who sought to stop the release of the Hindi film *Haq*. The movie, featuring Yami Gautam Dhar and Emraan Hashmi, draws inspiration from the historic 1985 Shah Bano case that changed maintenance laws for divorced Muslim women in India. Siddiqua argued that the film was made without family consent and misrepresented her late mother's life, exploiting her privacy and personality for commercial gain. Justice Pranay Verma dismissed the plea, stating that privacy and reputation do not transfer to heirs after death. The court also noted that the film carries a disclaimer clarifying it is a dramatized, fictional adaptation inspired by the Supreme Court judgment and a book. Directed by Suparn S Verma, *Haq* is scheduled for theatrical release on November 7.
Court Ruling and Legal Reasoning
Justice Pranay Verma of the Indore bench ruled that privacy or reputation earned during a person's lifetime ends with their death and cannot be inherited like property. The court emphasized that the film includes a disclaimer stating it is a dramatized, fictional adaptation inspired by a Supreme Court judgment and a book. Therefore, the content cannot be deemed fabricated. The judgment further clarified that since *Haq* is fictional and inspired by real events, some creative leeway is permissible. The court concluded that such dramatization does not amount to sensationalization or false portrayal. The petition by Siddiqua Begum Khan, who claimed commercial exploitation of her deceased mother's personality without legal heirs' consent, was thus dismissed.
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