Vir Das’ Hasmukh in trouble, plea in Delhi HC to take series off Netflix for allegedly maligning lawyers

A plea will be heard in the Delhi High Court on Monday against Vir Das’ Netflix show Hasmukh for allegedly maligning the image of lawyers.

The Delhi High Court is set to hear on Monday a plea seeking to restrain online media-streaming platform Netflix from airing its web series Hasmukh for allegedly maligning the image and reputation of lawyers. The suit filed by a lawyer is listed for hearing before Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva on Monday.

Vir Das plays a murderous comedian in Hasmukh.

The plea moved by advocate Ashutosh Dubey alleges that in episode 4 of the web series, lawyers have been referred to as thieves, scoundrels, goons and rapists. 

Dubey, who practises law in the Supreme Court, has claimed that “statements (in the series) are highly disparaging, defamatory and bring disrepute to the profession of law, and lawyers and advocates in the eyes of the general public”.

“The said remarks have caused utmost damage to the legal profession and impugned the image of lawyers in the eyes of millions of viewers/subscribers, who visit the streaming website where the show is being streamed,” the lawyer has said in his plea, seeking a permanent injunction on airing of the series.

The suit also seeks directions to the producers, directors and writer of the web series to “tender an unconditional apology online for maligning the image of the lawyers’ community, which includes judges too, as they too had been lawyers at one point of time”.

It also seeks “deletion or removal of the statements and contents” from Hasmukh, especially from episode 4 of the web series.

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