The Delhi High Court Thursday declined to stay the scheduled release Friday of Bollywoood director Ram Gopal Varma's "Nishabd" featuring Amitabh Bachchan in the controversial role of a 65-year-old man infatuated by his daughter's friend.

Like an earlier order of the court's single bench, a division bench of Chief Justice M. K. Sharma and Justice Sanjiv Khanna too refused to stay the release of the film as the petitioner, film director Jahar Kanungo of the Bengali film "Nisshabd", approached the court to seek a ban on the film on the ground it had been plagiarised.

The division bench, however, admitted Kanungo's petition accusing Varma of plagiarising his Bengali film "Nisshabd" and issued notice to the latter, his film production house RGV Films and Central Board of Film Certification, asking them to file their replies to Kanungo's allegations by April 9.

After the single bench of Justice A. K. Sikri refused Tuesday to ban Varma's film "Nishabd", Kanungo moved the division bench of the court Wednesday, challenging the single bench order.

Accusing Varma of resorting to plagiarism in making "Nishabd", Kanungo sought the court direction to stay the release of the Film.

Justice Sikri had dismissed Kanungo's petition saying the petitioner approached the court too late to secure the legal reprieve and have the film stopped from being released.

"Injunction of the nature pressed by the plaintiff (Kanungo) cannot be granted at this stage when he approached the court barely 10 days before the proposed release of the film," said justice Sikri Tuesday in his 38-page ruling.