Five Past Midnight in Bhopal Dominique Lapierre & Javier Moro Full Circle
Almost eight years after it was published, a Jabalpur court has issued an injunction against the sale of the book, Five Past Midnight In Bhopal, published in 2001 by Dominic Lapierre and Javier Moro. The injunction followed a defamation case filed against the authors by former Madhya Pradesh DGP Swaraj Puri, who was the police commissioner of Bhopal on the night of December 3, when the tragic gas leak happened, killing 5,000 people in a matter of 72 hours.
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Lapierre, who has authored with Michael Collins acclaimed bestsellers such as Freedom At Midnight, O Jerusalem and Is Paris Burning? -- books that revealed dark details about historic moments -- is no stranger to controversy. However, this is the first time he has run into a legal thicket. In a joint statement, the authors said, "We are surprised, considering that all portions objected to by Mr Swaraj Puri have been substantiated and more by Mr Moti Singh (who was the collector in Bhopal at that time and to whom Mr Puri was reporting to on a day-to day basis), in a book written by him on the Bhopal Tragedy." Moti Singh's book, titled Unfolding The Betrayal Of Bhopal Gas Tragedy, was released in 2008.
In their book Five Past Midnight In Bhopal, Lapierre and co-author Javier Moro talk of the mayhem that reigned in the city on the night of the gas leak and how the then police commissioner Swaraj Puri was at his wits' end (see excerpt). Offended, Puri fired off a notice to the authors in 2002. Puri's lawyer, Rajesh Pancholi attributed the delay in the legal proceedings to the fact that the authors could not be reached easily as they were French and lived abroad. So a notice was sent through email, demanding a sum of $10 million as compensation for the damage to Puri's reputation, with the caveat that if there was no response, it would be doubled to $20 million, added Pancholi.
Pradeep Bakshi, lawyer and spokesperson for Full Circle, the publisher of Lapierre and Moro's work, maintained that there was nothing defamatory in the book. Says Bakshi, "The whole issue is about money. Puri had earlier demanded $10 million and increased it later to $20 million plus legal fees. We will approach the appropriate court to seek relief in the case."
Pancholi, however, insists that money isn't the main motive behind the case. "In any such notice, it is imperative to mention a specific amount, so we mentioned a figure. Right now, what Puri wants is a public apology from the authors, more than money."
But is there a positive side to this defamation case, after all? Does it help boost the sales of the book? Shekhar Malhotra of Full Circle denies that the controversy helped the book much. He admits that when it was published in 2001, the book did not make much of a splash because by then, the Bhopal gas tragedy had already receded from public memory. However, the case does have its harassment quotient. Malhotra says his lawyer Bakshi now has to go to Jabalpur to attend to the case.
Almost eight years after it was published, a Jabalpur court has issued an injunction against the sale of the book, Five Past Midnight In Bhopal, published in 2001 by Dominic Lapierre and Javier Moro. The injunction followed a defamation case filed against the authors by former Madhya Pradesh DGP Swaraj Puri, who was the police commissioner of Bhopal on the night of December 3, when the tragic gas leak happened, killing 5,000 people in a matter of 72 hours.
click here
Lapierre, who has authored with Michael Collins acclaimed bestsellers such as Freedom At Midnight, O Jerusalem and Is Paris Burning? -- books that revealed dark details about historic moments -- is no stranger to controversy. However, this is the first time he has run into a legal thicket. In a joint statement, the authors said, "We are surprised, considering that all portions objected to by Mr Swaraj Puri have been substantiated and more by Mr Moti Singh (who was the collector in Bhopal at that time and to whom Mr Puri was reporting to on a day-to day basis), in a book written by him on the Bhopal Tragedy." Moti Singh's book, titled Unfolding The Betrayal Of Bhopal Gas Tragedy, was released in 2008.
In their book Five Past Midnight In Bhopal, Lapierre and co-author Javier Moro talk of the mayhem that reigned in the city on the night of the gas leak and how the then police commissioner Swaraj Puri was at his wits' end (see excerpt). Offended, Puri fired off a notice to the authors in 2002. Puri's lawyer, Rajesh Pancholi attributed the delay in the legal proceedings to the fact that the authors could not be reached easily as they were French and lived abroad. So a notice was sent through email, demanding a sum of $10 million as compensation for the damage to Puri's reputation, with the caveat that if there was no response, it would be doubled to $20 million, added Pancholi.
Pradeep Bakshi, lawyer and spokesperson for Full Circle, the publisher of Lapierre and Moro's work, maintained that there was nothing defamatory in the book. Says Bakshi, "The whole issue is about money. Puri had earlier demanded $10 million and increased it later to $20 million plus legal fees. We will approach the appropriate court to seek relief in the case."
Pancholi, however, insists that money isn't the main motive behind the case. "In any such notice, it is imperative to mention a specific amount, so we mentioned a figure. Right now, what Puri wants is a public apology from the authors, more than money."
But is there a positive side to this defamation case, after all? Does it help boost the sales of the book? Shekhar Malhotra of Full Circle denies that the controversy helped the book much. He admits that when it was published in 2001, the book did not make much of a splash because by then, the Bhopal gas tragedy had already receded from public memory. However, the case does have its harassment quotient. Malhotra says his lawyer Bakshi now has to go to Jabalpur to attend to the case.
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