Recently, the PIL was moved by Hindu Sena chief Surjit Singh Yadav seeking a ban on the Netflix series, namely “IC 814 The Kandahar Hijack”. The PIL alleged that the series distorts the real identities of the terrorists involved in the hijacking.
The petitioner, through advocate Shashi Ranjan, moved the court against the television miniseries “IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack” directed by Anubhav Sinha, citing inaccuracies in its depiction of the hijacking of Indian Flight 814 in 1999.
The petition claims that the miniseries wrongly assigns Hindu names like “Bhola” and “Shankar” (names associated with Lord Shiva) to the real kidnappers Ibrahim Akhtar, Shahid Akhtar Sayeed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Zahoor Mistry and Shakir.
According to the petitioner, this distorts the identity of the kidnappers, misrepresents historical facts, perpetuates harmful stereotypes and offends the sentiments of the Hindu community. The petitioner seeks the court’s intervention to prevent further public misunderstanding and possible harm.
The writ mentions that the Indian Constitution, which upholds secularism and religious harmony in a multi-religious society, lays down mutual respect for all religions as a fundamental right. It states that film producers, directors and actors have a constitutional duty to avoid disturbing religious sentiments and feelings. Accordingly, Parliament enacted the Cinematograph Act, 1952 to regulate feature films and ensure that they adhere to these principles. The writ seeks the court’s intervention to address these concerns in the context of the mini-series “IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack.” The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has reportedly summoned Netflix’s content head in response to allegations on social media that the makers of “IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack” deliberately altered the names of the hijackers to “Bhola” and “Shankar.”
Netflix India officials reportedly recently met with the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to address concerns over the series “IC-814: The Kandahar Hijacking.” Following the meeting, Netflix promised to review the series and update the disclaimer to include the real names of the hijackers. Additionally, Netflix assured that future content on its platform will be more sensitive to national sentiments.
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