'We miss out genuine PILs': Supreme Court dismisses PIL for regulating OTT content

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India on Friday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought to establish an autonomous body to oversee and regulate content on over-the-top (OTT) platforms.

The bench, headed by CJI D Y Chandrachud, stated that such matters fall within the policy domain of the executive branch and require broad consultations with various stakeholders. The bench included Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.

CJI Chandrachud remarked, "This is the problem of PILs. They are all on policy (matters) now and we miss out genuine PILs."

Lawyer Shashank Shekhar Jha, who filed the PIL, requested permission to withdraw and take his grievances to the relevant ministry, but the CJI responded, "No. Dismissed."

The PIL had cited the Netflix series "IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack" to emphasise the necessity for a regulatory mechanism, claiming the platform represented the series as based on real-life events.

The petition mentioned that while the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) regulates public film exhibitions under the Cinematograph Act, a similar body does not exist for OTT content, which relies only on self-regulation.

The petition argued that over 40 OTT and video streaming platforms are providing content that may abuse the right to expression outlined in Article 19 of the Indian Constitution.
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