Streaming giant Netflix has blocked the first episode of its new crime documentary series, “Crime Stories: India Detectives”, in view of an order of the Karnataka High Court.
A Sridhar Rao had filed a petition in the High Court against the telecast of the said episode, following which the court issued the order on October 1. Rao is an accused of murder recorded in the first episode of this series.
A single-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court headed by Justice BM Shyam Prasad, in its interim order, directed Netflix to “stream, broadcast, telecast or otherwise make available the content of episode number 1 of series 1 of the documentary.” Crime Stories: India Detectives’ titled ‘A Murdered Mother’.
Rao, in his plea, said that “the material available for the petitioner to see would be cast in harassment and prejudice”.
The first episode of the crime documentary series tells the story of a mother murdered by her own daughter in Bengaluru. A friend of Betty’s is shown as a possible accomplice in the murder case, where the suspects are eventually arrested in Port Blair.
In his petition in the High Court, Rao has stated that he is being tried for offenses punishable under Sections 302 and 307, 212, 201 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 along with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, in the offense registered by the Bengaluru Police. He added that the Netflix episode contains scenes from a police investigation and some of the material may have influenced his defense.
The petitioner told the High Court that the episode involved an interview recorded during the investigation and a video recording of an alleged confession.
“There is a serious prejudice on the right of the petitioner to a free and fair trial. This is in addition to infringing on the privacy of the petitioner, and the material, without any justification, exposes the petitioner to ridicule and harassment by the public at large,” Rao had argued.
While Rao approached a civil court to issue an interim order to stop the streaming of the episode, it was argued that the civil court did not issue any interim order.
The Karnataka High Court in its interim order has asked to stop the streaming of the first episode of the series “Crime Stories: India Detectives” till further orders.
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