MUMBAI:The Delhi High Court has declined to grant an injunction against the scheduled launch tonight of Zee TV's big budget primetime weekly Time Bomb.

The court was hearing the case today on a suite filed by Twentieth Century Fox last Friday that the Zee TV thriller has copied the concept of its ongoing TV serial 24. After more than two hours of hearing today, justice Anil Kumar adjourned the matter for Wednesday to hear the version of Zee Telefilms.

"Fox's request to grant an injunction has been dismissed. The serial will launch tonight as planned," Essel Group VP corporate communications and brand development group Ashish Kaul told indiantelevision.com.

Senior advocate Arun Jaitley fought for Zee while Amarjit Singh Chandioke and C M Lall appeared for the US producer.

Fox lawyers displayed the CD of the serial and explained the unique way in which 24 was made and contended that the act of ZTL amounted to infringement of copyright.

Jaitley argued that nobody could monopolise on the concept of terrorism and claimed that Time Bomb was the extended version of another Zee serial Pradhan Mantri.

When contacted, Time Bomb's writer-producer-director Ketan Mehta said, "After hearing both the parties' arguments, the court passed a judgment in favour of Zee TV permitting it to launch the show. The final verdict is not yet out. The hearing will continue."

On 17 June, Twentieth Century Fox moved the Delhi High Court requesting the court to take action against Zee Telefilms Limited on copyright infringement. Refusing to stay the telecast of the serial, the court asked ZTL to file its reply and affidavit on or before 20 June, Monday and place before it the CD/VCD of the first episode of the scheduled programme.