HYDERABAD: OTT platform Netflix told the Telangana High Court on Friday that there was no need for obtaining consent of former chariman and CEO of Satyam Computer Service, B Ramalinga Raju, for making a documentary series on his life as the information pertaining to the Satyam scandal and his conviction are available in the public domain.
Senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, appearing for Netflix, made these submissions before the division bench of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A Abhishek Reddy.
The bench was dealing with an appeal filed by Netflix against a lower court order restraining release of the documentary webseries Bad Boy Billionaires: India, which is based on the life stories of Raju, Mehul Choksy, Vijay Mallya and Subrata Roy. Kaul argued that the lower court has passed the injunction order without any basis.
There is no conflict in the present case as the documentary series relates to a scandal and there is a need to have public debate on it, and it is not pertaining to the family members of Raju.
Kaul further submitted that one of Raju’s associate, Hari Challapalli, who is allowed to have communication with Netflix representatives, conveyed Raju’s consent to the documentary and allowed to use his archival photos.
Replying to a query from the bench, the senior counsel said that Netflix has incorporated in India in the year 2017 and one of its partners is an Indian citizen, hence it is not a foreign entity. Either to write a book or to make a film one should depend on information available in the public domain and the subject documentary series is made on the scam that had largely impacted the society, he added.The bench posted the matter to December 4 for further hearing.