The high court on Monday stayed the state-wide screening of Bengali film Poran Jai Joliya Re, terming it a “frame-by-frame” copy of the 2007 Hindi release Namastey London.

Justice Nadira Patheriya held the producer and director of Poran Jai… responsible for infringement of the Copyright Act by “copying the sequences and costumes” of Namastey London, starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif.

Within hours of the stay order, Poran Jai… producer Shree Venkatesh Films moved a high court division bench challenging the legality of the trial court order.

Justice Patheriya said: “All documents and equipment (including the reels) will have to be deposited to the censor board till the disposal of the case.”

A division bench of Justice P.C. Ghosh and Justice I.P. Mookerji admitted Shree Venkatesh’s petition for hearing on Tuesday but refused to stay Justice Patheriya’s order.

Lawyers appearing for Vipul Shah, the maker of Namastey London, said they wouldn’t move a contempt petition against Shree Venkatesh Films till the appeal was disposed of by the division bench.

Monday’s interim order was based on a petition moved last week by Shah against the makers of Poran Jai… under the Copyright Act. After hearing the petition, Justice Patheriya had ordered Shree Venkatesh Films to deposit the revenue from ticket sales to a separate bank account. She had also decided to watch both films.

The two-week-old Poran Jai..., which was running in 115 halls across Bengal, has already been declared a box-office hit.