Every time you travel to this court….We don’t appreciate this. We will put a cost on you for filing such a petition.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court took intense action against producer Ekta Kapoor on Friday for the “objectionable content” in her online series “XXX,” claiming that she was tainting the minds of the nation’s young population.
The Supreme Court was considering Kapoor’s appeal against the arrest warrants that had been issued against her for allegedly disrespecting soldiers and harming their families in the web series broadcast on her OTT platform ALTBalaji.
“Something has to be done. You are polluting the minds of the young generation of this country. It is available to all. OTT (Over The Top) content is available to all. What kind of choice are you providing to the people?….On the contrary you are polluting the minds of youngsters,” a bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and C T Ravikumar said.
The Patna High Court has received a plea, but there is no prospect the case will be scheduled for hearing any time soon, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi, who is representing Kapoor, said. This prompted the court to make the statement.
According to him, Kapoor had already received protection from the top court in a related case.
According to Rohatgi, there is freedom of choice in this nation, and that the content is subscription-based.
The court then questioned what type of choice is being offered to people after deferring on imposing costs.
“Every time you travel to this court….We don’t appreciate this. We will put a cost on you for filing such a petition. Mr. Rohatgi, please convey this to your client. Just because you can afford and hire the services of good lawyers….This court is not for those who have voices.
“This court works for those who don’t have voices…If these people who have all kinds of facilities, if they cannot get justice then think of the situation of this common man. We have seen the order and we have our reservations,” the bench observed.
The high court left the case open-ended and advised hiring a local attorney to monitor the progress of the hearing in the high court.
A trial court issued the warrant in Begusarai, Bihar, in response to a complaint made by an ex-serviceman named Shambhu Kumar.
In his 2020 lawsuit, Kumar claimed that Season 2 of the series “XXX” contained multiple offensive scenes involving a soldier’s wife.
