Aviation company Dunes Aviation has filed a Rs 3-crore civil defamation suit against actor Nora Fatehi, alleging that her social media remarks describing one of its chartered aircraft as a "Lego airplane" and a "toy" caused reputational and commercial damage.
The suit, filed before a Gandhinagar court in April, will come up for hearing before senior civil judge R Agarwal on September 25.
Dunes Aviation alleged that Fatehi made the comments after recording videos inside a Cessna Citation CJ2 aircraft during a Mumbai-Jaipur flight in December last year. The actor subsequently posted the videos on her Instagram account, where she has more than 4.6 crore followers.
According to the company, Fatehi described the aircraft as a "miniature", a "toy" and a "Lego airplane". It alleged that the remarks were "reckless, irresponsible, and made without any technical knowledge, verification or factual basis".
Company claims drop in bookings
Dunes Aviation said the actor's comments had a significant impact on its business because of her large social media following. The company alleged that the statements resulted in booking cancellations and caused a 15-20 per cent decline in bookings.
The aviation firm claimed that the remarks led to "serious reputational damage, loss of goodwill and adverse commercial impact".
Dunes Aviation maintained that the aircraft used for the journey was standard and appropriately sized for the flight. It also said the aircraft was fully DGCA-certified, airworthy and being lawfully operated under a valid Non-Scheduled Operator's Permit (NSOP).
Dunes Aviation seeks damages, removal of posts
Besides Rs 3 crore in damages, the company has asked the court to direct the immediate removal of social media content containing the alleged statements or references to the aircraft.
The company has also sought a public clarification from Fatehi over the remarks.
(With inputs from PTI)
