HYDERABAD: A division bench of the Telangana High Court on Friday said it would decide whether to permit over-the-top platform Netflix to release the web series Bad Boy Billionaires, only after first watching the documentary. The documentary allegedly pertains to B Ramalinga Raju of the erstwhile Satyam computer firm.
The bench directed the counsel for Raju to file a counter affidavit in the present appeal filed, challenging a lower court order restraining Netflix from airing the series suspected to be based on the life of Raju and others.The bench comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy passed the order in an appeal filed by Netflix seeking to set aside the lower court order.
Senior counsel from Supreme Court Neeraj Kishan Kaul, appearing for Netflix, told the court that the documentary was made based on material available in public domain. He said the trial court had stalled the release without hearing them. In fact, Ramalinga Raju and others were already convicted in the Satyam scam case, after which Raju had filed an appeal before the Appellate court challenging the verdict. Hence, the documentary would not have any impact on his appeal, Kaul argued, and urged the court to watch the documentary.
The bench suggested the senior counsel to watch the documentary along with senior counsel S Niranjan Reddy, who is appearing for Ramalinga Raju, as it would clear doubts, if any.Not agreeing with the suggestion, Kaul said doing so would give scope to a wrong tradition of seeking prior permission for release of any documentary. In fact, staying the release is a violation of freedom of expression and freedom of press, he noted.
After hearing the above submissions, the bench opined that freedom of press should have self regulation. The bench decided to watch the documentary and posted the matter to September 25 for further hearing.