Sahara India Pariwar has hit out at the makers of the 'Scam' web series amid reports that the next part of the franchise will follow the life of Sahara India founder Subrata Roy, who passed away in November 2023.
The upcoming series, titled 'Scam 2010 - The Subrata Roy Saga', is based on Tamal Bandyopadhyay's book 'Sahara: The Untold Story'.
In a statement on Saturday, Sahara India Pariwar said: "An abusive and grossly condemnable act has been demonstrated by the makers of 'Scam' to achieve cheap and wide publicity, by announcing to unveil, 'Scam 2010: The Subrata Roy Saga'."
"Sahara India Pariwar condemns such acts of all the individuals and parties involved and shall resist to their offending behaviour. In this regard, the aggrieved members are seeking advice to take suitable legal action against the Producer, Director, and all those who are involved in making the illegal portrayal," it added.
The group said that it believes that the dispute between SEBI and Sahara is still pending before the Supreme Court and "any attempt to influence the proceedings of the said case shall attract contempt of Court, besides such acts amount to criminality".
"In the garb of a right of free speech and expression, no one can be allowed to undermine the goodwill and reputation of a person, who is not available to defend himself. The use of the word 'scam' in the title of the so-called web series and linking it to Sahara seems prima-facie defamatory, and tends to lower the image and reputation of Saharasri Ji and Sahara India Pariwar," it said.
Refuting involvement in any chit-fund activity, Sahara India Pariwar said: "Even the Sahara-SEBI issue was a dispute on the SEBI’s jurisdiction on OFCD bonds issued by Sahara."