PIL in Delhi HC for banning public viewing of Netflix India series IC814 The Kandahar Hijack over distortion of facts

The petition filed by the president of Hindu Sena sought a direction to the Centre and Maharashtra government to ban the public viewing of the series.

A PIL was filed in the Delhi High Court on Monday seeking a ban on OTT series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack over allegations of distortion of facts about the real identities of the hijackers. The plea alleged that the miniseries erroneously shows the real hijackers as having Hindu names, including ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar’, the other names of Lord Shiva, which hurt the sentiments of the Hindu community.

The petition filed by Surjit Singh Yadav, a farmer and president of Hindu Sena, sought a direction to the Centre and Maharashtra government to cancel the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) certificate and ban the public viewing of the series.

“The distortion of crucial facts about the real identities of the hijackers not only misrepresents historical events but also perpetuates harmful stereotypes and misinformation, warranting interference of this court to prevent further public misunderstanding and potential harm,” the petition says.

Meanwhile, the central government has summoned the content head of OTT platform Netflix India over the series, which has triggered a row over the depiction of hijackers, contending that nobody has the right to play with the sentiments of the nation.

Official sources said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has summoned the content head of Netflix India on Tuesday, seeking an explanation on the allegedly contentious aspects of the series portraying the 1999 hijack of an Indian Airlines flight by Pakistan-based terror outfit Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.

The series, directed by Anubhav Sinha, was released on Netflix India on August 29.