BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court has directed the popular streaming network Netflix to block the first episode of Series 1 of the documentary, ‘Crime Stories: India Detective’, titled “A Murdered Mother”.
Issuing notices to Netflix Entertainment Services India and Minnow Films Ltd, Justice BM Shyam Prasad passed the interim order after hearing a petition filed by S Sridhar Rao, a resident of Subbannapalya here. The petitioner’s counsel submitted that Sridhar Rao is undergoing trial for multiple offences, which include those punishable under Sections 302 and 307, 212, and 201 read with Section 34 of the IPC. The episode, “A Murdered Mother”, contains visuals of interrogation of the petitioner and another.
He argued that the content prejudices the petitioner’s defence, as it contains an interview recorded during the investigation and a recorded video of a purported confession. Apart from violating his privacy, the content, without any justification, exposes him to ridicule and harassment by the public, he argued.
The petitioner said that he filed the suit against the respondents, along with an application for temporary injunction, before the Civil Court, but it only issued summons and emergent notices without considering that the delay in granting an interim order would defeat the purpose of the application and prejudice the petitioner’s interest. The episode is on OTT platform and is available for viewing to all registered users, which would put the petitioner to harassment, he pleaded.