The Delhi High Court has restrained Netflix and Channel News Asia (CNA) from streaming, broadcasting and telecasting a documentary A Big Little Murder pertaining to the unfortunate tragic death of a 7-year-old student of a Gurugram-based school in 2017.
A single-judge bench of Justice Jayant Nath passed this order while hearing a plea moved St Xavier’s Education Trust (plaintiff) under Order 39 Rules 1 and 2, CPC , which submitted that the name of the school and visuals of the school’s buildings have been used elaborately and frequently in the documentary without obtaining permission.
The trust has stated that the visuals shown in the documentary were in violation of an order passed by Ld Additional Session Judge on January 8, 2018, wherein the court has ordered that “Parties to the proceedings as well as the public at large including the media persons are hereby directed to use imaginary names given in this judgment wherever they have to refer the persons or facts of this case. Staff of the court is also directed to take care that henceforth the present case has to be mentioned in the cause-list with the imaginary names given in this judgment.”
The trust argued that the matter was presently sub judice before the Additional Sessions Judge, Gurugram.
Rajiv Virmani and Karanjawala & Co’s Senior Partner- Sandeep Kapur senior counsel representing the trust, informed the Court that the documentary was available for viewers on the website of CNA and on the platform of Netflix since earlier this month.
After hearing the parties, the Court ordered that “The defendants are restrained from streaming, broadcasting, telecasting etc. the documentary titled “A big Little Murder” or any of its abridged versions.”
The Court, however, clarified that the documentary may be streamed after deleting any reference to the plaintiff-school and deleting the portion where the school building is depicted.
The matter would be heard next on October 10.
It is pertinent to note that a documentary was made on the murder of a 7-year-old innocent in a renowned school in Gurugram. The name and footage of the school were used in this documentary where the child was murdered.