Fugitive
diamond merchant Mehul Choksi's plea for pre-screen of the Netflix documentary
"Bad Boy Billionaires" which is based on corruption by India's tycoons
has been dismissed by the Delhi High Court.
Mr
Choksi can, however, go for a civil suit if he still wants to pursue the
matter, Justice Navin Chawla who was the judge of the concerned matter.
As
per Justice Chawla:
"In
my opinion, a writ petition for private enforcement is not maintainable. The
appropriate remedy would be civil suit as the alleged infringement is of a
private right. The petition is dismissed. The petitioner is at liberty to raise
the issue in a private civil suit,"
The
documentary is to be released in India on September 2 as per schedule. As per
Netflix's lawyer “Mr Choksi's plea for a pre-screening was "wholly
misconceived" and "mischievous".
Mr
Choksi is accused of cheating Punjab National Bank of up to ₹ 13,500 crore, Along
with his nephew Nirav Modi Both fled India before the case blew up and have
never returned India till date.
The
Netflix promo of the film 'BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES'says, "This
investigative docuseries explores the greed, fraud and corruption that built up
- and ultimately brought down - India's most infamous tycoons".
Neeraj
Kishan Kaul and Dayan Krishnan, lawyers representing Netflix, said Mr Choksi is
a "declared absconder and fugitive" and allowing pre-screening to him
will be "freezing of free speech".
Mr
Choksi's lawyer Vijay Aggarwal said that his client has a right to fair legal trial,
which should not be prejudiced with the release of the documentary.
"I
am not an outlaw. There is a stay request working in support of myself by the
Bombay High Court. They have called me an outlaw multiple times in this
consultation and they have misled the court. I encourage the court to review
the arrangement and secure me (Mr Choksi)," Mr Aggarwal said for the
benefit of his customer.
He
threatened that Netflix, an American company, has to respect Indian laws and
the Constitution or it could be banned like Chinese apps.
Additional
Solicitor General Chetan Sharma and the centre's counsel Ajay Digpaul,
representing the Electronics and Information Technology Ministry, said there is
no statutory mandate to regulate or review over the top (OTT) content.
Giving
a brief about the series, Netflix's lawyers said it includes a story about a
diamond tycoon who travelled to London with his uncle, after which the Punjab
National Bank scam broke out. The lawyer said only one or two interviews of Mr
Choksi to the media are in the series and just two minutes are devoted to him.
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