Mirzapur makers, Amazon Prime Video sent notices by Supreme Court after complaints against show

The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a notice to makers and producers of Mirzapur and streaming service Amazon Prime Video, seeking responses on a plea complaining over the portrayal of Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur district in poor light, reports  Hindustan Times. The apex court’s order comes after a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against the producers of the show for allegedly “hurting the religious sentiments and tarnishing the image of the Uttar Pradesh town”. The FIR was filed at the Kotwali Dehat police station in Mirzapur against Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar and Bhaumik Gondaliya under IPC sections 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or reli­gious beliefs), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the IPC along with sections of the Information Technology (IT) Act. According to a report by Asian New International, the bench, headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, admitted the plea and sought a response from the makers of the series and the OTT platform. The PIL was also filed by Sujeet Kumar Singh, a resident of Mirzapur, who said the web series makers have shown Mirzapur as a “city of goons and adulteresses.” A few days back the Madhya Pradesh government filed a case against Amazon Prime Video series _Tandav_ for allegedly insulting Hindu Gods. In 2020, Netflix series A Suitable Boy had come under fire from religious and political groups over kissing scenes on the campus of a temple. The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) national secretary Gaurav Tiwari had demanded an apology from Netflix and the makers of the series, and removal of “objectionable scenes”, which he stated were also “encouraging love jihad.”