But the vacation bench of the High Court has refused to grant a stay, adjourning the hearing till November 3.
Star, which has been airing the serial for the last eight years, sent a termination notice to Ekta Kapoor-headed Balaji Telefilms on October 10 saying the serial's TRP ratings had been falling since July 2008.
Star's counsel Ravi Kadam said that there was a clause in its agreement with Balaji which provides for ending the serial if TRP ratings plummet.
But Balaji's argument before the High Court is that Star did not do enough to promote the serial through advertising.
It also contends that the agreement provides for approaching an arbitration panel in case of a dispute.
Both parties are supposed to appoint an arbitrator each, but Star has not appointed one, it said.
Kadam said he was not able to reveal whether Star would prefer an arbitration instead of fighting out the case in the High Court.
The serial, which has a fan following even in Afghanistan according some media reports, is credited with spawning a whole new genre of family-centered TV serials.
comment:
p_commentcount