Netflix series IC814 allegedly ‘distorted facts’, PIL for its ban filed

New Delhi: A PIL was filed in the Delhi High Court on Monday seeking a ban on OTT series ‘IC-814: The Kandahar hijack’ over allegations of distortion of facts about the real identities of the hijackers.

The plea alleged that the mini-series erroneously shows the real hijackers as having Hindu names, including ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar’, the other names of Lord Shiva, which hurt the sentiments of the Hindu community.

The petition filed by Surjit Singh Yadav, a farmer and president of Hindu Sena, sought a direction to the Centre and Maharashtra government to cancel the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) certificate and ban the public viewing of the series.

“The distortion of crucial facts about the real identities of the hijackers not only misrepresents historical events but also perpetuates harmful stereotypes and misinformation, warranting interference of this court to prevent further public misunderstanding and potential harm,” the petition said.

Meanwhile, the central government has summoned the content head of OTT platform Netflix over the series, which has triggered a row over the depiction of hijackers, contending that nobody has the right to play with the sentiments of the nation.

Official sources said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has summoned the content head of Netflix India on Tuesday, seeking an explanation on the allegedly contentious aspects of the series portraying the 1999 hijack of an Indian Airlines flight by Pakistan-based terror outfit Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.

The series, directed by Anubhav Sinha, was released on Netflix on August 29.