Tandav web series: SC seeks status report on FIRs pending against actors, makers

New Delhi [India], July 5 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing, for August first week, in a batch of petitions filed by the makers of Amazon Prime Video's 'Tandav,' clubbing and transfer of first information reports (FIR) lodged against them in six cities for allegedly hurting religious sentiments and telecasting objectionable content.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and JB Pardiwala also directed the respondent States to file a report with regard to the status of the various FIRs against actors and makers of the web series 'Tandav'.

The FIRs were filed against director Ali Abbas Zafar, producer Himanshu Mehra, writer Gaurav Solanki, actor Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub and Aparna Purohit (Amazon Prime, Creative Head).

The bench asked States to file status reports on the FIRs pending and posted the matter for hearing after four weeks.

"You file a status report so that we know what is the current position," the bench said.

It added, "This matter is coming up after a while. We do not know the status of the FIRs in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Once we have the status report, we would be better informed on how to proceed and this matter can be put to rest."

'Tandav', a nine-episode political thriller that started streaming in January 2021 on Amazon Prime Over The Top (OTT) platform, featuring Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia and Ayyub, had created an uproar for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

After the release of multi-starrer series, multiple FIRs were lodged across the country against its director, producer, writer, actors, as well as Amazon India Original's head Aparna Purohit under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and the Information Technology Act, 2000.

FIRs were registered against actors and makers of the series for the alleged inappropriate depiction of Uttar Pradesh Police personnel, deities, and adverse portrayal of a character playing the role of prime minister in the show.

FIRs mentioned that the show portrayed the Hindu deity Shiva in "a poor light" as the actor playing him on-screen was shown using foul language.

Three FIRs were registered in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow, Greater Noida and Shahjahanpur. Two FIRs were lodged in Madhya Pradesh while one FIR each was lodged in Karnataka and Bihar. Apart from the FIRs, at least three other criminal complaints are pending in Maharashtra, Delhi and Chandigarh respectively.