Plea before Delhi High Court against release of web show UP 77 based on life of gangster Vikas Dubey

A petition has been filed before the Delhi High Court to stop the release of upcoming web series titled UP 77, which is reportedly based on the life of gangster Vikas Dubey, who was gunned down by the Uttar Pradesh police in 2020 in an alleged encounter killing.

The plea to halt the December 25 release of the web series was mentioned this morning before a Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela.

The counsel representing the petitioner said that the plea was filed by Dubey's wife, Richa Dubey.

The Court has allowed the urgent listing of the petition, which may be heard later today.

Vikas Dubey and his aides were accused of gunning down as many as eight police personnel in Kanpur. He was subsequently taken into police custody on July 9, 2020, after surrendering before the Madhya Pradesh Police.

However, Dubey was killed on the morning of July 10 while being taken back to Uttar Pradesh by the State police. The police claimed that he was killed "in self-defence" after he tried to grab a gun from a police officer and reportedly fired at them.

Hours before Dubey's killing, Mumbai-based lawyer Ghanshyam Upadhyay had filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking protection for the gangster, apprehending his killing in a "fake encounter". The encounter took place even before the plea could be listed before the Supreme Court.

Dubey's death triggered concerns from various quarters that the Uttar Pradesh police had carried out a fake encounter killing. Lawyers in Uttar Pradesh wrote letters to the Allahabad High Court seeking a probe.

NGO People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) filed an urgent application in a pending matter before the Supreme Court, for an investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

The top court eventually gave the green signal for an inquiry commission headed by former Supreme Court judge, Justice BS Chauhan, to investigate the matter.

This Inquiry committee eventually gave a clean chit to the Uttar Pradesh Police.

However, it recommended action against police and other government officials who used to patronise Dubey. In July 2022, the Supreme Court directed that the inquiry committee's report be made public. The Court also directed the Uttar Pradesh government to take appropriate action on the recommendations of the inquiry commission.