In 2018, Davidar moved the Delhi HC with a defamation suit. In 2024, Bose moved the HC against Davidar, alleging copyright infringement.In a long drawn-out legal case spanning 15 years, the Delhi High Court Thursday cleared novelist and publisher David Davidar, formerly CEO and co-founder of Penguin India, of plagiarism charges. It also cleared Tuticorin-based author Sivasundari Bose, who had accused Davidar of plagiarising her manuscript, of defamation charges.Davidar vs BoseIn 2011, Bose had alleged that Davidar’s 2002 novel, ‘The House of Blue Mangoes’, was plagiarised from her manuscript. This was Davidar’s debut novel, set in the backdrop of a village in the southern part of India from the early 20th century that narrated the saga of a family across three generations.Bose sent him a legal notice, alleging that Davidar’s novel was plagiarised from her 2006-published novel, ‘Golden Stag’, which is based in a Tamil Nadu town, dealing with five generations of a family, spanning from the early 20th century to early 21st century.Bose had alleged that she sent a sample of her book to Penguin India in 1996, and also gave the manuscript in a floppy disc in 2000 to a junior editor at Penguin India, when Davidar was heading the publishing house.Davidar, on the other hand, had accused Bose of defaming him as “revenge for rejection of her manuscript by Penguin India of which Mr David Davidar was the then CEO”.In 2018, Davidar moved the Delhi HC with a defamation suit. In 2024, Bose moved the HC against Davidar, alleging copyright infringement.On Thursday, both lost their respective claims after Justice Tejas Karia ruled that they had failed to prove their cases.Bose’s case:Story continues below this adShe had listed 47 instances of similarities between the two books.She had purportedly started working on the novel in 1987, completing the first draft in 1991. While claiming breach of trust and misappropriation of her work, Bose told the court that she had initially submitted the manuscript in 1996 to Penguin India and it was rejected in October the same year.She said she resubmitted the manuscript to the publishing house in January 2000 and did not receive a response at the time. She again submitted it a third time in 2003, after the publication of Davidar’s book. She had alleged that her 2000-submitted manuscript was eventually passed on to Davidar.Davidar’s case:He had contended that he started work on his book in the 1980s, with the first draft readied in April 2000, and an agreement signed with the publisher in November 2000.Story continues below this adHe had also asserted that Bose “defamed” him “in front of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, who is an author and a public figure, as well as Ms Beulah Shekhar, National General Secretary of YWCA”. Davidar had taken objection to Bose’s public statements, claiming Davidar plagiarised from her book, alleging that such statements harmed his reputation.HC rulingNoting that Bose had failed to provide any evidence of her submission of the manuscript in 2000, as well as the 2000 manuscript itself, Justice Karia ruled that Davidar’s ‘The House of Blue Mangoes’ does not plagiarise from Bose’s work.“When two authors address the same subject matter, some degree of similarity is unavoidable due to the shared central concept; however, these similarities or coincidences alone do not constitute piracy or plagiarism… The differences between David’s book and Sivasundari’s book significantly outweigh any purported similarities,” the court held.As for the defamation case, Justice Karia ruled in Bose’s favour but held that “Bose’s communications regarding her grievance to her close associates and friends were conducted in good faith and served the purpose of safeguarding her rights. There is insufficient evidence to establish a claim of defamation arising from Ms. Bose’s interactions with Ms. Chitra Banerji Divakaruni and Ms. Beulah Shekhar.”Story continues below this adDavidar had stepped down as Penguin International’s CEO in 2010 following sexual harassment allegations against him. The case was subsequently settled out of court. He had then moved back to India from Canada, and co-founded Aleph Book Company.Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court Professional Profile Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express. Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare). Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others. She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020. With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles: High-Profile Case Coverage She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots. She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy. Signature Style Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system. X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:delhi