A day after veteran producer TP Aggarwal challenged in court the ‘ban’ on Ranveer Singh by a film body, the actor has reportedly sent a legal notice to the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) over the “non-cooperation directive” issued against him in the wake of his sudden, last-minute exit from Farhan Akhtar’s directorial Don 3. FWICE is a trade union representing over 5 lakh workers, technicians, and artists in the Indian film and television industry.Ranveer sends legal notice to FWICESources tell SCREEN that Ranveer sent a legal notice to the film body on Tuesday, more than a week after the film body issued the non-cooperation directive that asked its 5 lakh members not to work with the actor. The FWICE had claimed that while Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s production house Excel Entertainment has been cooperating with the film body over the Don 3 standoff, Ranveer has not appeared before the body despite receiving three reminders at 10-day intervals.The actor’s last known communication with the FWICE, before the legal notice, was on May 23, when his representative wrote to the film body, informing the body that it has no jurisdiction over the matter. Even though the representative proposed to meet and address the matter personally, the FWICE has insisted that Ranveer shows up personally to resolve the issue.Also Read: Why Ranveer Singh exited Farhan Akhtar’s Don 3: Script disputes, slashed budget, DhurandharBoth Ranveer’s representative and the FWICE refused to comment on the development officially. However, the film body is expected to address the matter and “communicate its further stand” in the “dispute between filmmaker Farhan Akhtar and Ranveer Singh for the forthcoming film Don 3,” as per an official invite to a press conference in Mumbai today.Does Ranveer have a case against FWICE?Last week, a media and entertainment lawyer told SCREEN that Ranveer has “remedies” to take legal action against the FWICE. “You have the constitutional right to be able to carry out any trade of your choice, so long as it’s legal. Right now, the film body is more of a toothless tiger. But when it gains teeth to the point where it restricts him to engage with more producers, I’d imagine he’d challenge the union’s directive or at least get them to modify the terms so that his right to work is protected,” said Sanjay Vasudevan. If he wishes, Ranveer could seek legal remedies under Section 3(3)(b) of the Competition Act, Article 19(1)(g) of the Indian Constitution, and Section 27, Contract Act.He also argued that since the FWICE is essentially just a trade union, and doesn’t hold any statutory powers, its actions aren’t legally binding. “Since Ranveer is not even a member of the FWICE, he is outside its jurisdiction, and the directive has no binding force against him or third parties,” he said, adding that the film body’s “authority is consensual and confined to its members”.Story continues below this adAlso Read — Ranveer Singh took smaller fee for Dhurandhar, earned more through backend deal: ProducerAdditionally, Vasudevan pointed out that Ranveer isn’t even legally liable to engage with the FWICE. “Declining a request from a non-authoritative body attracts no liability. Ranveer is well within his rights to not indulge in the conversations,” he said. “It’s a commercial choice, and not a legal duty. The ‘no one is above the law’ framing is rhetorical, not legal,” added the lawyer, referring to FWICE President BN Tiwari’s claim that “a superstar is not above the law”.Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.Tags:Ranveer Singh