Tandav row: Allahabad HC denies anticipatory bail to Amazon Prime India's Aparna Purohit

The Allahabad High Court has rejected an anticipatory bail application filed by Amazon Prime Video’s India Originals Head Aparna Purohit in relation to a case related to the web series, _Tandav_ . Uttar Pradesh Police filed an FIR in Noida against the makers of the web series and  Purohit, among others, was accused of derogatory depiction of Hindu deities on the show. A single bench judge in Allahabad High Court observed she has “scant respect for the law of the land” and that her “conduct further disentitles her to any relief from this court.” According to an NDTV report, the judge referred to stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui’s arrest while stating how Hindi filmmakers continue to “repeatedly ridicule” Hindu deities. “Such people make the revered figures of religion of majority community source of earning money in most brazen manner taking benefit of the liberal and tolerant tradition of the country,” he added. He added the Indian diplomacy has had to encounter a tough time protecting the interest of the country so that such protests made against shows and films are seen as “stray and genuine” and not as a “mark of intolerance in the country as a whole.” The Allahabad High Court had earlier this month  ordered no coercive action against Purohit in the case. In January, an FIR was lodged at the police station against Purohit, Tandav series director Ali Abbas, producer Himanshu Krishna Mehra, writer Gaurav Solanki, and an unidentified person. The nine-episode political thriller starring Bollywood A-listers  Saif Ali Khan , Dimple Kapadia and Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub, started streaming on the platform in January. In Uttar Pradesh, FIRs have been registered against the show in Greater Noida and Shahjahanpur also, besides Lucknow.