Read Time: 03 minutes

Synopsis

On Friday, a public interest litigation seeking a ban on Netflix miniseries IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack was withdrawn after the online platform updated the disclaimer by adding the real names of the terrorists along with the alias they used. 

The bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela granted liberty to the petitioner to withdraw the plea noting the updated disclaimer. 

Surjit Singh Yadav, the President of the Hindu Sena, through Advocate Shashi Ranjan Kumar Singh, had filed the petition contending that the miniseries failed to disclose the actual identities of the terrorists and instead referred to them as ‘Shankar’ and ‘Bhola’. These names are associated with Lord Shiva thereby hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus.  

The plea stated that the miniseries distorted historical events by misrepresenting the crucial facts about the terrorists’ real identities while perpetuating harmful stereotypes and misinformation. It was also argued that the series wrongly suggested that Hindus were responsible for hijacking the plane, which might propagate a false narrative that Hindus are prone to extremist behavior. 

The plea also stated that “In the name of creative liberty and artistic representation, can not hurt the sentiments of Hindu community by referring the names of Hindu gods for terrorists after concealing their real identities”.

Per an India Today article, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had summoned the Netlfix India Content Head Monika Shergill to address the concerns surrounding the miniseries. The online platform however assured the government that the series was based on publicly available information, including books and government statements.

Case Title: Surjit Singh Yadav v Union Of India