In a major relief for acclaimed Tamil filmmaker S Shankar, the Madras High Court on Tuesday stayed the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) order provisionally attaching his property worth Rs. 10 crore in a copyright infringement case linked to the 2010 blockbuster ‘Enthiran’ starring Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai.
The Division Bench of Justice MS Ramesh and Justice N Senthilkumar issued the stay while hearing a petition filed by Shankar, challenging the ED’s action.
The property attachment order was issued by the ED on February 17, 2025, following a complaint by writer Arur Tamilnadan, who alleged that Shankar had plagiarized his story ‘Jugiba’ for the sci-fi film ‘Enthiran’.
Since offences under the Copyright Act fall under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the ED had moved forward with the attachment. However, Shankar’s counsel, Senior Advocate PS Raman, argued that the move was arbitrary and unjustified, citing a previous ruling by a Single Judge of the Madras High Court in June 2023, which dismissed Arur Tamilnadan’s civil suit and held that copyright cannot be claimed over an idea or concept.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the Madras High Court bench expressed skepticism over the ED’s actions, questioning whether the agency could proceed with property attachment based solely on an individual’s complaint.
“Can the ED register cases based on an individual’s complaint that a crime has been committed? Why didn’t the ED wait for the outcome of the complaint before attaching the property?” the court asked.
The ED’s counsel Vishnu defended the agency’s decision, citing the Supreme Court’s ruling in Vijay Madhanlal Choudhary, which affirmed the ED’s authority to act upon individual complaints. However, the court remained unconvinced, noting that the attachment of property had caused undue hardship to the director.
Senior Advocate PS Raman further refuted the ED’s assertion that Shankar received Rs. 11.5 crore from ‘Enthiran’, stating that the filmmaker’s earnings stemmed from other professional projects and not from any illegal transaction.
The Madras High Court has directed the ED to file a counter affidavit in response to Shankar’s plea and adjourned the case to April 21, 2025.
Case Details
Case Title: S Shankar v. The Deputy Director
Case No: WP 8352 of 2025
Date: 11/03/2025
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