The Delhi High Court dismissed Mehul Choksi’s petition seeking a pre-screening of Netflix’s docu-series, Bad Boy Billionaires which is scheduled to be released on September 2 (Mehul Choksi vs UOI).
While granting liberty to the now Antiguan businessman to pursue appropriate legal remedies, a Single Judge Bench of Justice Navin Chawla opined that a writ petition was not maintainable in the present case.“In my opinion, a writ for enforcement of a private right, in this manner, is not maintainable.”
The Court stated that the appropriate remedy in the present case was filing a civil suit and not a writ petition.
Fugitive businessman and accused in the PNB Scam case, Mehul Choksi had moved the Delhi High Court against Netflix for its series titled Bad Boy Billionaires which is scheduled to be released on September 2 (Mehul Choksi vs UOI).
Appearing for Mehul Choksi today, Advocate Vijay Aggarwal argued before a Single Judge Bench of Justice Navin Chawla that since the series features Nirav Modi, who is Choksi’s nephew and co-accused in the case, it may prejudice the investigation and trial against him.
“I am only making a request for preview. Show me the series before it is released. I am not seeking anything else.”
In his writ petition filed before the High Court, apart from seeking the preview, Choksi has sought a direction to restrain Netflix from releasing the episode/portion which would be prejudicial to his rights of fair investigation and trial, and presumption of innocence.
Appearing for Netflix, Senior Advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul challenged the maintainability of the writ petition.
He asserted that OTT-platforms were not regulated by government authorities, and the only remedies before Choksi were to either make a representation in terms of Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, or file a suit for Netflix.
Kaul further clarified that only 2 minutes in the entire series were on Mehul Choski.
In his petition filed through AdvocatesNaman Joshiand Tarun Singla, Choksi has submitted that he has been falsely accused of “various crimes in India” and under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, he is entitled to the presumption of innocence, a free and fair trial and right to reputation.
It is argued that the Court must intervene and protect Choksi’s rights in the face of a premature or unfair portrayal in a motion picture.
The matter will be heard next on August 28.
