The latest Supreme Court order on the ‘Tandav’ case does not bid much good for actor Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub, Amazon Prime Video India head Aparna Purohit and makers of ‘Tandav’, that includes director Ali Abbas Zafar, producer Himanshu Mehta and the show’s writer Gaurav Solanki, who had all filed petition in the top court.
The Supreme Court has refused to grant protection, to the above mentioned petitioners, from arrest in several FIRs against them and has asked them to approach High Court for anticipatory bail or quashing of FIRs. The case was heard by a bench of justices Ashok Bhushan, RS Reddy and MR Shah, which said, “Your right to freedom of speech is not absolute. You cannot play the role of character that hurts the sentiments of a community.”
On the other hand it has accepted the plea of ‘Tandav’ makers and actor and issued notice to various states to club several FIRs registered against them across the country. Cases have been filed against the Amazon Prime web series for hurting religious sentiments and insulting religion under Sections 153A and 295 of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Senior advocate Fali Nariman appearing for makers of ‘Tandav’ told the SC about the apologies and cuts that the makers have made to the web series and that nothing survives in the case now, as the grievances have already been addressed.
While the concerns raised in various FIRs have been taken care of by the makers, the issue does not seem to cool down so easily for the public who are still angry and want nothing less than some sort of punishment, which they think will serve as an example/warning for future. Also, for many, a mere apology and cuts here and there, does not serve the purpose.
How the ‘Tandav’ case further evolves remains to be seen.
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