A petition seeking to ban the Netflix series “IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack” has been withdrawn from the Delhi High Court after Netflix issued a disclaimer. The petition was initially filed due to concerns over the portrayal of events in the series.
New Delhi: The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a ban on Netflix’s series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack has been withdrawn from the Delhi High Court.
The petitioner, represented by counsel, explained that Netflix’s addition of a disclaimer clarifies the real names of the terrorists involved in the hijacking, addressing the concerns raised in the PIL.
The petition, filed by Surjit Singh Yadav, Chief of the Hindu Sena, sought a ban on the series for allegedly distorting the actual identities of the hijackers.
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The petitioner, through Advocate Shashi Ranjan, approached the court against the miniseries directed by Anubhav Sinha, citing inaccuracies in its portrayal of the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814.
The PIL claimed that the series wrongly assigns Hindu names, such as “Bhola” and “Shankar”mnames associated with Lord Shiva to the real hijackers Ibrahim Akhtar, Shahid Akhtar Sayeed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Zahoor Mistry, and Shakir.
According to the petitioner, the series distorts the identities of the hijackers, misrepresents historical events, perpetuates harmful stereotypes, and offends the sentiments of the Hindu community. The petition urged the court to intervene to prevent further public misunderstanding and potential harm.
It emphasized that India’s Constitution, which upholds secularism and religious harmony in a multi-religious society, guarantees mutual respect for all religions as a fundamental right. It also asserted that filmmakers have a constitutional responsibility to avoid disturbing religious sentiments.
The plea referenced the Cinematograph Act of 1952, which was enacted to regulate feature films and ensure adherence to these principles. It sought the court’s involvement to address concerns related to the miniseries IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack.
Additionally, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting reportedly summoned Netflix’s content head following accusations on social media that the series had deliberately altered the hijackers’ names to “Bhola” and “Shankar.”
Netflix officials have since met with the Joint Secretary of the Ministry to discuss the issue, and the platform has committed to reviewing the series. Netflix also assured that the disclaimer would be updated to include the real names of the hijackers and that future content would be more sensitive to national sentiments.