Streaming giant Netflix heaved a sigh of relief this evening, when it won the case filed against its upcoming, much-awaited show ‘Trial By Fire‘. The case against ‘Trial By Fire’ was filed by the Ansals of Uphaar Cinema, who implored the High Court to stay the release of the show on Netflix. The honorable High Court, however, rejected the petition of Sushil Ansal, and gave Netflix the go-ahead to release the show on its platform. ‘Trial By Fire’ will thus premiere on Netflix on its original release date of January 13th, which is tomorrow.
For those who don’t know, ‘Trial By Fire’ documents the devastating tragedy that took place in Delhi in June 1997, when a fire raged through an ill-equipped Uphaar Cinema during a film screening, killing 59 people and leaving a hundred more with terrible burn wounds. The series ‘Trial By Fire’ is based on the book by Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy, called ‘Trial By Fire: The Tragic Tale of the Uphaar Fire Tragedy’. The series will tell the story of the writers, Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy’s 24-year-long fight for justice for their children, Unnati and Ujjwal, who died in the terrible tragedy. The Ansals are the owners of Uphaar Cinema, the scene of the tragedy.
83-year-old real estate tycoon and owner of Uphaar Cinema, Sushil Ansal, filed a case in the Delhi High Court against Netflix’s upcoming’ Trial By Fire’, petitioning before Justice Verma to restrain Netflix from streaming the show. He argued before court that through the show “they directly attack my personality. They call me directly by my name. There can’t be a more direct attack on my personality. My name is there in the web series”. He further said that the series “would cause irreparable harm to his reputation and breach his right to privacy.”
However, the Delhi High Court struck down his petition on the grounds that “it (Trial By Fire) essentially represents their (the Krishnamoorthys) perspective and opinion, and what is about to be published or broadcast is not fundamentally removed from the truth, denigratory or slanderous”. The court also said that details of the tragedy have been public since 26 years and from the time the FIR was recorded, upto Sushil Ansal’s conviction, everything has been consistently tracked by the press and has remained in the public domain.”
Trail By Fire stars Rajshri Deshpande and Abhay Deol as Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy, who braved through years of relentless litigation for justice for their children. The limited series premieres on Netflix worldwide tomorrow, 13th January.
We’re hiring!
We are hiring two full-time junior to mid-level writers with the option to work remotely. You need to work a 5-hour shift and be available to write. Interested candidates should email their sample articles to [email protected]. Applications without a sample article will not be considered.
