Why is Sunny Deol back in court? Bombay HC restores filmmaker Suneel Darshan's plea

The Bombay High Court has restored filmmaker Suneel Darshan’s appeal in his long-running legal battle against Bollywood actor Sunny Deol over the shelved film Good Morning India, nearly 18 years after the dispute first emerged.

A division bench comprising Justices Ajay Gadkari and Kamal Khata on June 25 allowed Darshan’s plea to revive the appeal, which had earlier been dismissed for want of prosecution. The court, however, imposed a cost of ₹15,000 on the producer, directing him to pay the amount within two weeks.

What was the controversy?

The dispute dates back to 2008, when Darshan planned to produce Good Morning India with Deol in the lead role. According to the filmmaker, the actor failed to honour the agreement and eventually walked out of the project, leading to substantial losses. Darshan subsequently sued Deol, seeking damages of ₹20 crore.

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The matter was referred to arbitration, with a former Chief Justice of India appointed as the sole arbitrator. While the arbitrator found merit in certain aspects of Darshan’s grievance and directed Deol to pay ₹12 lakh, the larger claim of ₹20 crore was rejected after the filmmaker failed to establish and quantify the alleged losses.

Both parties challenged the arbitral award before the Bombay High Court. Deol contested the direction requiring him to pay ₹12 lakh, while Darshan challenged the rejection of his ₹20 crore claim. In April 2015, a single-judge bench dismissed both petitions and upheld the arbitral award.

The producer and actor then filed cross-appeals before a division bench of the High Court.

Court's decision

On June 9, 2026, Darshan’s appeal was dismissed after no one appeared on his behalf during multiple hearings. Seeking restoration, Darshan filed an interim application through advocates Zaheer Memon and Shilpi Jain. The lawyers argued that they had joined the matter only in April this year and that the appeal had previously been handled by another advocate.

They further submitted that due to a technical issue, they were unaware that the matter was listed on June 9, resulting in the dismissal of the appeal.

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Counsel appearing for Deol opposed the plea, arguing that the court’s cause lists had reflected the names of the current advocates against Darshan’s case on multiple dates. However, after considering the submissions, the division bench allowed the restoration application, subject to payment of costs.

With the appeal now restored, the legal battle between Darshan and Deol over the abandoned film project is set to continue before the Bombay High Court.