Recently, two former employees of Union Carbide India Ltd sought a stay on the release of YRF’s web series The Railway Men. However, Bombay HC refused the stay release of the series. A vacation bench of single judge Justice Arif Doctor has upheld the order of a Mumbai civil court, that had earlier refused the stay release of the series.
The court in its order on November 15, said, “The entire premise for seeking a stay of the release of the said web series is the same may adversely affect the Appellants’ legal proceedings. This is prima facie untenable for three reasons, (a) the Appellant already stands convicted in connection with the Bhopal Gas Tragedy (b) the Trial has come to an end in the year 2010, the contents of the trial and judgment were available in the public domain and (c) counsel for YRF has produced the disclaimer which will precede the airing of each episode which specifically caveats 'This series is a work of fiction, inspired by real events'. Given this, I find that the appellants have, in my view at this stage, not satisfied the very high threshold test required to stay the release of the said web series.“
The appealants also demanded a pre-screening of the web series to find out if there was anything prejudicial to their interest, however, the court refused to entertain this request and said, “The right to the Appellants to have pre-screening of a fictional work belonging exclusively to the Respondent is indeed untenable. In the event the appellant is in any manner aggrieved by the web series or feels defamed etc, after it is aired the appellants have their remedies in law to seek damages etc.”
The two appellants had been convicted in the criminal proceedings arising from the Bhopal gas leak incident of 1984. They sought a stay on the release of the series on the grounds that it would adversely prejudice them in any legal proceedings and that it would challenge their conviction. However, the court dismissed their appeal on the grounds that, “the web series is neither a documentary nor narration of true facts,” is a work of fiction.
Helmed by Shiv Rawail, The Railway Men is YRF’s series that boasts an ensemble cast that includes Babil Khan, Kay Kay Menon, R Madhavan, Divyenndu, and others. The series is now set to release on November 18 on Netflix.
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