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'Netflix can't stream ‘A Big Little Murder’ until…', rules Delhi HC
The real names of the boy, the school as well as its building have also been shown, which violates an earlier court order.
A Big Little Murder, a 2019 documentary apparently on the death of a boy in a school, cannot be streamed by Netflix and any other online streaming platform unless all scenes that explicitly contain references to the specific school are deleted, the Delhi high court said on Friday. The documentary, which attempts to uncover the truth behind the “brutal 2017 murder of a young Indian schoolboy”, was released on Netflix on August 6, 2021. The two-episode show, consisting of interviews, is "controversial, provocative, investigative", the description on Netflix says.
The school, through its trust, moved the Delhi high court against the streaming of the documentary, saying it uses the name of the school, shows visuals of the school, which was done in complete violation of the order passed by a local court in 2018. The local court directed, inter-alia, to protect and safeguard the privacy and reputation of the parties, the lawyers representing the school said.
"The defendants are restrained from streaming, broadcasting, telecasting etc. the documentary titled "A Big Little Murder" or any of its abridged versions. I may clarify that the defendants may stream the said documentary after deleting all references to the plaintiff school in question and deleting the portion where the building of the school is depicted," high court Justice Jayant Nath said, adding that imaginary names of the victim, accused and the school have to be given.
In 2017, the boy was found dead inside the school. The bus conductor pleaded guilty but was later found to be innocent. While the CBI investigation is still going on in the case, a school student has been charged with the boy's murder. The documentary tracks this incident and has not changed the names of either the people allegedly involved or the school.
(With PTI inputs)
