IC814 The Kandahar Hijack Controversy: PIL Seeking Ban On Vijay Varma Starrer Withdrawn

IC814 The Kandahar Hijack Controversy: Vijay Varma starrer, streaming on Netflix, drew heavy criticism owing to the name of the hijackers. After the matter escalated, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of India summoned the Netflix Content Head seeking an explanation on the allegedly contentious aspects of the OTT series. A PIL was also filed in the Delhi High Court seeking the ban on the series. However, now the petitioner has withdrawn the plea.

Why PIL seeking a ban on IC814: The Kandahar Hijack was withdrawn?

A PIL seeking a ban on series for allegedly not revealing the real identities of the hijackers was withdrawn from the Delhi High Court on Friday. Petitioner Surjit Singh Yadav's counsel said since Netflix has now issued a disclaimer carrying the "names of the terrorists" in the series portraying the 1999 hijack of an Indian Airlines flight by Pakistan -based terror outfit Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, he did not wish to press his plea, reported by news agency PTI.

"The counsel for the petitioner said in view of the disclaimer inserted by respondents, he does not wish to press the present writ," a bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela was quoted saying.

Disposing of the plea, Justice Manmohan remarked that for "completion", the makers could consider having another episode on the court proceedings in relation to the incident. "There is a judgement of the Punjab & Haryana High Court. Complete picture will emerge," he said per PTI.

The petitioner's counsel said his grievance was the movie did not disclose the original names of the hijackers and anybody who saw it would believe their original names were Bhola and Shankar - both Lord Shiva's names. The petitioner alleged that the "erroneous" depiction of the real hijackers hurt the sentiments of the Hindu community.

Yadav, a farmer and president of Hindu Sena, therefore sought a direction from the Centre and Maharashtra government to cancel the Central Board of Film Certification certificate and ban the series from public viewing. "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 plea alleged.

Why are people boycotting IC814: The Kandahar Hijack?

The series referred to the code names used by terrorists -- 'Bhola', 'Shankar', 'Doctor', 'Burger' and 'Chief'. Their original names were Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny, Ahmad Qazi, Zahoor Mistry and Shakir. 

With PTI Inputs