The Supreme Court Today (March 19th) dismissed a criminal case filed against the renowned Indian production company, TVF (The Viral Fever), regarding allegations of obscene content in the third season of its web series, College Romance.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today nullified a criminal lawsuit against the acclaimed Indian production company The Viral Fever (TVF), associated with the controversy over alleged inappropriate content in the third installment of their web series, “College Romance.”
The judicial panel, consisting of Justices AS Bopanna and PS Narasimha, declared that the accusations did not substantiate any infringement of Sections 67 (related to the distribution or broadcast of obscene materials in electronic format) and 67A (concerning the distribution of materials depicting sexually explicit acts in electronic format) under the Information Technology Act (IT Act).
Consequently, the appeals lodged by TVF and its creators, disputing a previous verdict by the Delhi High Court from March of the prior year, were accepted. The High Court had initially determined that the language and content showcased in “College Romance” were indecent, offensive, and crude, potentially leading to the moral degradation of youth.
In its March 2023 verdict, the High Court pronounced that TVF, along with the series’ director Simarpreet Singh and actress Apoorva Arora, should be subject to legal proceedings under Sections 67 and 67A of the IT Act. It highlighted that judgments on Indian morality and ethics must be contextualized within national boundaries, reflective of modern standards of decency and morality.
Additionally, the High Court urged the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) to implement the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, more stringently. This ruling was subsequently appealed in the supreme judicial arena, prompting a request from the top court for a response from the Delhi police in May of the following year.
Representing TVF and its associated personnel were distinguished Senior Advocates Harish Salve, Mukul Rohatgi, Madhavi Divan, Sajan Poovayya, and S Niranjan Reddy along with KV Viswanathan, who has since been appointed as a Supreme Court judge. Additional representation included advocates Yugandhara Pawar Jha, Misha Rohatgi, and Tarini Kulkarni.
On the legal team for TVF were also Ameet Naik, Managing Partner of Naik & Naik, and Deputy Managing Partner Madhu Gadodia, with advocate Neeha Nagpal. Representing the legal interests of the Delhi Police were Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj and a group of advocates including Shreekant Neelappa Terdal, Sharath Nambiar, Sanjay Kr. Tyagi, Sridhar Potaraju, Nidhi Khanna, Karthik Jasra, Dr. Arun Kumar Yadav, and Arvind Singh.
CASE TITLE:
TVF Media Labs Pvt Ltd and ors vs State Govt of NCT of Delhi and anr.
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