Amazon Prime Video’s India head gets protection from arrest over web series Tandav; court says Centre’s regulations on social media have no mechanism to control violations, legislation needed
The Centre’s guidelines on regulating OTT and social media do not have any “teeth” for taking appropriate action against digital platforms showing inappropriate content, the Supreme Court said on Friday while granting protection from arrest to Amazon Prime Video’s India head Aparna Purohit in FIRs lodged over web series Tandav.
The apex court also directed Purohit to make the Centre a party to her plea. Tandav is a nine-episode political thriller starring Bollywood A-listers Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia and Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub.
The web series has been accused of inappropriate depiction of Uttar Pradesh Police personnel, Hindu deities and the adverse portrayal of a character playing the Prime Minister in the web series.
A Bench comprising justices Ashok Bhushan and RS Reddy also issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh Government on Purohit’s plea for an anticipatory bail in FIRs on Tandav series.
Observing that the Centre’s regulations on social media are mere guidelines and do not have provision for any action against digital platforms, Justice Bhushan said, “We have gone through your rules and it does not have any teeth. No power for prosecution. No mechanism to control violations.”
After the court emphasised that without legislation the Government cannot control social media, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said the Government will consider appropriate steps and any regulation or legislation on it will be placed before the court.
The top court had on Thursday observed that some over-the-top (OTT) platforms at times show pornographic contents and there should be a mechanism to screen such programmes. It had asked the Centre to place its guidelines on regulating social media.
Mehta had said he would place on records the Information Technology (Guidelines for intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Purohit, had on Thursday termed the FIRs against her as “shocking” saying that this woman is an employee of Amazon and she is neither a producer nor an actor but still she has been made an accused in around 10 cases relating to the web series across the country.
Earlier, the apex court, on January 27, had declined to grant interim protection from any coercive action to Ali Abbas Zafar, director of the web series, Purohit, producer Himanshu Mehra, the show’s writer Gaurav Solanki and actor Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub.
It had said they may seek bail from courts concerned in the FIRs lodged in connection with the web series.
Now, Purohit has appealed to the top court against the Allahabad High Court’s February 25 order declining anticipatory bail to her. A single-judge Bench of the High Court had said Purohit had not been “vigilant and has acted irresponsibly making her open to criminal prosecution in permitting streaming of a movie that is against the fundamental rights of the majority of citizens of this country and therefore, her fundamental right of life and liberty cannot be protected by a grant of anticipatory bail to her in the exercise of discretionary powers of this court”.
While rejecting the plea, the High Court had said the applicant was earlier granted interim protection from arrest by another Bench in a similar case but she was not cooperating with the investigation.
The HC had observed, “Western filmmakers have refrained from ridiculing Lord Jesus or the Prophet but Hindi filmmakers have done this repeatedly and are still doing this most unabashedly with Hindu gods and goddesses.”
“This tendency on the part of the Hindi film industry is growing and if not curbed in time, it may have disastrous consequences for the Indian social, religious and communal order,” the HC had observed.
On January 19, 2021, an FIR was lodged on the complaint of one Balbir Azad of Raunija village under Rabupura police station of Greater Noida. In the complaint, Azad alleged that the show depicted Uttar Pradesh and its police in a poor light.
The complaint alleged the web series had deliberately denigrated Hindu gods and goddesses. Several other FIRs have also been lodged in States like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar and Delhi.
Saturday, 06 March 2021 | PNS | New Delhi
