Actors can't be liable for insulting dialogues: HC
New Delhi, July 16 : The Delhi High Court on Monday said actors cannot be held liable for dialogues that allegedly insulted former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in the "Sacred Games" web series.
A bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Chander Shekhar wanted to know as to why the actors were made a party to the case. The bench also questioned the maintainability of the plea since all the episodes are on air.
The bench observed that everyone has freedom to express his views, which may be right or wrong.
The court has sought to know whether the plea could be entertained as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) and asked the petitioner to satisfy how the court could intervene in the matter.
The PIL -- filed by lawyer Nikhil Bhalla through advocate Shashank Garg -- sought the removal of two contents that according to him "tarnished" the image of late Prime Minister.
The lawyer claimed that the series incorrectly depicted historical events such as Bofors scandal, Shah Bano case, Babri Masjid demolition and communal riots.
The bench said that there was nothing urgent in it as all the episodes had already been aired. The bench has watched the CD of the series placed on record.
According to the petitioner's lawyer, there are two scenes where derogatory words have been used which need to be removed, as the actor is seen abusing our former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
The court also asked whether a certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification was required for airing such web series.
The court has listed the matter for July 19 for a detailed hearing.
Last week, a Congress activist in West Bengal filed a police complaint against actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, over-the-top media services provider Netflix and the makers of "Sacred Games" for "insulting and abusing" Rajiv Gandhi.
The series is based on author Vikram Chandra's similarly titled novel. It has been directed by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane.
The web series has episodes on the Emergency imposed by the Indira Gandhi government, Bofors scandal and the Shah Bano case that created a storm during Rajiv Gandhi's tenure as Prime Minister.
Breaking his silence over the web series, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the "Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh believe the freedom of expression must be policed and controlled but I feel it is a fundamental democratic right".
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Kumaraswamy to visit Andrew Yule's tea gardens in Assam soon
Guwahati(PTI): Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Monday said he would soon visit tea gardens, owned by public sector enterprise Andrew Yule, to revive its estates as workers are facing immense hardship.
Kumaraswamy, the minister of steel and heavy industries, thanked Assam Industries Minister Bimal Borah for apprising him of various challenges being faced by the tea gardens and the need to support the management to alleviate suffering of workers.
"We are concerned about the economic challenges and hardship of the tea gardens owned by Andrew Yule Group in Assam and its impact on the wage earners," Kumaraswamy said at a press conference here.
The tea garden wage earners will also get a 20 per cent Durga Puja bonus, like workers of other gardens, he said.
Referring to his recent visit to the Cement Corporation of India Ltd factory at Bokajan in Karbi Anglong district, Kumaraswamy said there was a plan for the revival of the cement industry in the state by investing Rs 700 crore.
He also emphasised on the need for a cement manufacturing unit in the northeastern states.
On the current development of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) policy utilisation in Assam, the union minister said more than Rs 2,000 crore would be invested for battery charging stations and nearly 70,000 such facilities will be set up across the country.
More than 18,000 e-buses will also be purchased to fulfil the goal of carbon emission reduction, Kumaraswamy added.
