Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on July 21 allowed the telecast of Sahara Entertainment's mega serial "Karishma-A miracle of destiny", dismissing an appeal by American author Barbara Taylor Bradford who alleged that the serial was a plagiarised version of her novel 'A Woman of Substance.'

Allowing the telecast of the serial starring Bollywood star Karishma Kapoor from July 21 evening, a Division Bench comprising Justice A N Ray and Justice J Banerjee also directed the American author to pay heavy damages for the delay in telecast of serial as well as cost of the litigation.

The court ordered Bradford to pay Rs 1.5 lakh per week for causing delay in telecast of the serial to Sahara TV.

The Rs 60 crore mega serial was scheduled to be telecast from May 12. But only one episode of the serial could be telecast on that day before it was stopped by a court order following an injunction appeal filed by the American author.

The Bench, refusing to grant any stay of operation on its order as prayed by Bradford, also directed the novelist to pay Rs 10,000 per day for trial court proceedings and Rs 15,000 per day for appeal court hearing as cost of litigation to the Sahara Entertainment.

The Bench, hearing an appeal by Bradford against a June 30 order by a single Bench vacating an earlier injunction on the telecast of the serial, also waived the bank guarantee of Rs 25 lakh that Sahara had been asked to pay for telecasting the serial.

PTI