[Tandav] There should be screening of programs on OTT platforms, at times they are showing pornography: Supreme Court in Aparna Purohit bail plea

The Supreme Court today opined that there should be screening of programs on over-the-top (OTT) platforms like Amazon Prime and Netflix..The observation was made in the anticipatory bail plea filed by India Head of Amazon Prime Video, Aparna Purohit in the case registered against her in connection with the web series 'Tandav'..At the outset of today's hearing, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi described the case filed against Purohit as "shocking", stating that publicity seekers around the country were filing such complaints..Justice Ashok Bhushan said to Rohatgi,"Please submit the regulations on OTT platforms. We are of the view that there should be some screening of such programs. At times they are showing pornography too.".Agreeing with the Court's observation, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta added,"They are showing filthy things with abuses too.".Rohatgi then submitted that the Allahabad High Court order rejecting Purohit's bail plea was not based on the Centre's newly notified OTT regulations. "It's about freedom of speech and expression," Rohatgi said.The Court replied,"It's about creating balance.".Despite Rohatgi's protestations that the OTT regulations were not applicable in this case, the Court adjourned the matter to tomorrow. SG Mehta was asked to submit and circulate the Information Technology (Guidelines for intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which provides for regulation of content on OTT platforms..The Allahabad High Court had recently rejected Purohit's bail plea, noting in its order that the sentiments of majority community have been hurt by display of the characters of their faith in disrespectful manner..[Tandav FIR] Ten reasons why the Allahabad High Court rejected the anticipatory bail by Aparna Purohit .The High Court had also ruled that the use of the word "Tandav" as the name of the series can be offensive to the majority of the people in the country since it is associated with a particular act assigned to Lord Shiva..Purohit had approached the High Court after a First Information Report (FIR) was filed against her by the Uttar Pradesh Police for offences under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 295 (defiling place of worship), 295A (hurting religious sentiments), 505(1)(b), 505(2) (statements conducive to public mischief) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 66 and 67 of the Information Technology Act.Aside from Purohit, FIRs were also registered against Director of Tandav, Ali Abbas Zafar, Producer Himanshu Mehra and Writer Gaurav Solanki..In his order, Justice Siddharth said that there was a deliberate and malicious intention on the part of Purohit to outrage religious feelings, which would attract the offence under Section 153-A of the IPC.Further, the High Court had observed that the allegations for committing offences u/s 153-A(b) IPC are fully made out since the act of the applicant is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different religious, social and communal groups. It was noted that the scenes filmed in the series intentionally used "the names of Hindu Gods and sage to convey an insidious message.".The High Court had also opined that there is an onerous duty on every citizen to respect the feelings of the people of other faiths even while making a work of fiction..The High Court was also critical of the Bollywood film industry stating that while Western filmmakers have refrained from ridiculing Lord Jesus or the Prophet, Hindi filmmakers have done this "repeatedly and unabashedly with Hindu Gods and Goddesses."The judge said that a number of movies have been produced which have used the name of Hindu Gods and Goddesses and shown them in disrespectful manner (Ram Teri Ganga Maili, Satyam Shivam Sundram, PK, Oh My God, etc.).