Director S Shankar has expressed deep disappointment over the Enforcement Directorate (ED) provisionally attaching three of his properties. The Tamil filmmaker known for his large-scale productions called the move “misuse of the legal process,” stating that the Madras High Court had already ruled in his favour in the case related to his 2010 film Enthiran (Robot in Telugu).
ED Attaches ₹10 Crore Worth of Assets
In its actions ED has attacked immovable properties valued at staggering ₹10.11 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002. The case is linked to a plagiarism complaint filed by Tamil writer Aarur Tamil Nadan, who alleged that Shankar had copied the story of Enthiran from his work titled Jiguba. The ED claimed that Shankar’s earnings from the film included ₹11.50 crore for the story development, screenplay, dialogues and direction making him liable under the COpyright Act and sections of the IPC.
Director S Shankar Calls ED’s Actions ‘Baseless’
Now in his statement director S Shankar clarified that the plagiarism allegations were dismissed in Civil Suit No. 914/2010 by the Madras High Court. “The Court carefully examined the evidence and dismissed the claim filed by Aarur Tamil Nadan. Despite this, the ED proceeded with the attachment, relying on an independent report from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and ignoring the binding judgment of the court,” he said.
Shankar also highlighted that the private complaint cited by the ED had already been stayed by the Madras High Court. “I trust the authorities will review their actions and cease further proceedings. If not, I will appeal against the attachment order,” he stated.
This legal hurdle comes at a time when Shankar’s recent high-budget films including Indian 2 and Game Changer, did not perform well as expected.
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