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Supreme Court refuses protection to makers of web series Tandav
The bench observed, “Your right to freedom of speech is not absolute. You cannot play the role of a character that hurts the sentiments of a community.”
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to grant relief to Tandav web series’ director, producer, writer, actors and Amazon India Originals’ head Aparna Purohit over criminal cases lodged against them in multiple states.
A three-judge bench headed by justice Ashok Bhushan issued a notice on a petition filed by the makers of Tandav requesting the clubbing of multiple FIRs against them in six states. However, the bench, also comprising justices RS Reddy and MR Shah, refused to grant the request for interim protection.
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The makers of the web series are facing criminal cases for hurting religious sentiments and insulting religion punishable under sections 153A and 295 of the Indian Penal Code.
The bench observed, “Your right to freedom of speech is not absolute. You cannot play the role of a character that hurts the sentiments of a community.”
The accused were granted pre-arrest bail on January 20 by the Bombay high court for a three-week period enabling them to obtain bail from Allahabad high court. The parties came to Supreme Court seeking protection in all cases against them.
