PIL in Delhi HC seeks ban on Netflix series "IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack"
Sep 02, 2024
New Delhi [India], September 2 : A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Delhi High Court by Surjit Singh Yadav, Chief of Hindu Sena, seeking a ban on the Netflix's series namely "IC 814 The Kandahar Hijack."
The PIL alleged that the series distorts the actual identities of the terrorists involved in the hijacking.
The petitioner through Advocate Shashi Ranjan has approached the court against the television miniseries "IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack," directed by Anubhav Sinha, citing inaccuracies in its portrayal of the 1999 hijacking of Indian Flight 814.
The petition claimed that the miniseries erroneously assigns Hindu names such as "Bhola" and "Shankar"--names associated with Lord Shiva--to the real hijackers Ibrahim Akhtar, Shahid Akhtar Sayeed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Zahoor Mistry, and Shakir.
This, according to the petitioner, distorts the identities of the hijackers, misrepresents historical events, perpetuates harmful stereotypes, and offends the sentiments of the Hindu community. The petitioner seeks the court's intervention to prevent further public misunderstanding and potential harm.
The plea further mentioned that India's Constitution, which upholds secularism and religious harmony in a multi-religious society, mandates mutual respect for all religions as a fundamental right.
It asserted that film producers, directors, and actors have a constitutional duty to avoid disturbing religious feelings and sentiments. Consequently, the Cinematograph Act, 1952 was enacted by Parliament to regulate feature films and ensure they adhere to these principles. The plea seeks the court's intervention to address these concerns in the context of the miniseries "IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack."
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has reportedly summoned Netflix's content head, Monika Shergill, in response to accusations on social media that the makers of "IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack" deliberately altered the names of the hijackers to "Bhola" and "Shankar."
