Kochi: Kerala High Court refused to stay the release of Jeethu Joseph's directorial 'Neru', which is set to hit the theatres on Thursday.

Earlier, scriptwriter Deepu K Unni, a Thrissur native, approached the court alleging that the movie's script was plagiarised from a screenplay he had authored. He requested to stay the film's release. 

After hearing the petition, the bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran served notices to actor Mohanlal, who plays the lead role in the movie, Jeethu Joseph, co-writer advocate Santhi Mayadevi and producer Antony Perumbavoor. The court will next consider the petition on Thursday. 

Unni claimed that he gave a copy of the script to Jithu Joseph and Santhi Mayadevi three years ago after meeting with them at the Marriott Hotel in Kochi. He says they promised to contact him once they receive the date of Mohanlal. After watching the film's trailer, he realised he had been deceived by the filmmakers and moved to court.