MUMBAI: A little over eight months after Star India filed a civil suit in the Bombay High Court seeking to enforce its contract against enstranged head of ad-sales Raj Nayak, it reached a compromise settlement today.

Nayak walked off a free man this morning after a full three-judge bench of the Bombay High Court was told that Star had reached an out-of-court settlement on the matter and was therefore withdrawing its appeal.

Star India head of corporate communications Yash Khanna told indiantelevision.com, "We have reached an out-of-court settlement with Raj wherein we have appealed to the honourable court that we are not interested in pursuing our appeal any further."

The original suit filed by Star had pleaded that Nayak be directed to work with the network till the end of his contract in June 2004. Star had also sought an ad interim injunction barring Nayak from taking up alternative employment till the end of his contract.

Star's lawsuit had also made the Prannoy Roy-promoted NDTV a party in the case, arguing that Nayak was "defecting" to a competing channel network.

A single judge bench of the High Court had earlier ruled in Nayak's favour, after which Star went in appeal.

Noted lawyer Kapil Sibal, who headed Nayak's defence, had argued that for eight years Nayak worked for Star without a time-bound contract. Further, it was argued that Star's latest three-year contract was not enforceable as it was one-sided and without an exit clause.