NEW DELHI: A petition seeking ban on Netflix series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack has been officially withdrawn from the Delhi High Court. The withdrawal came after the petitioner, Surjit Singh Yadav, chief of Hindu Sena, and his counsel, Advocate Shashi Ranjan, accepted Netflix’s addition of a disclaimer clarifying the real names of the terrorists involved in the 1999 hijacking incident.
The PIL, initially filed to halt airing of the mini series, raised concerns over distortion of the identities of the hijackers. The plea claimed the series assigned Hindu names like “Bhola” and “Shankar”— associated with Lord Shiva — to the hijackers, whose real names are Ibrahim Akhtar, Shahid Akhtar Sayeed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Zahoor Mistry, and Shakir. This, as per petitioner, misrepresented facts and hurt religious sentiments.
The plea said India’s Constitution promotes secularism and importance of mutual respect among religions. It argued that filmmakers have a responsibility to avoid content that disturbs communal harmony. The plea referenced the Cinematograph Act, 1952, which regulates films to ensure they adhere to these Constitutional principles. In response to growing backlash on social media and legal challenge, Netflix officials met with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to address the concerns.
PIL claimed distortion of identities
PIL raised concerns over distortion of identities of the hijackers. Plea claimed series assigned Hindu names like “Bhola” and “Shankar”— associated with Lord Shiva — to the hijackers