Delhi HC refuses to stay Netflix’s release of series ‘Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper’

New Delhi [India], July 25 (ANI): The Delhi High Court has refused to stay the release of webseries, Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper, released on OTT platform Netflix.

The bench of Justice Navin Chawla, in an order passed recently, said, “In my prima facie view, I do not find the trailer to be referring to the profession of chartered accounting in any manner.”

“It is a series that appears to be more in the genre of comedy and merely describes the main character as a topper in the Chartered Accountancy Examination. It is neither intended nor can be perceived to be derogatory to the profession of Chartered Accountancy or the toppers or rank holders in the examination conducted by the ICAI. Artistic expression, even in the form of commercial speech, cannot be curtailed on the basis of an oversensitive approach,” said the court.

However, the court issued notice to all defendants and directed to file their reply within a period of four weeks.

The plaintiffs, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and others, in their suit, stated that the trailer for the series Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper’ was released on July 10, 2024, announcing streaming of the said series on the Netflix web platform from July 18, 2024. The plaintiffs claim that the said trailer shows the profession of chartered accounting in an extremely vulgar and derogatory sense.

The plaintiffs complain that portraying the profession of chartered accountants in such a scandalous manner is totally illegal and violates their constitutional rights. The suit stated that the ICAI has also received emails objecting to the scandalous content of the trailer, which contains unwarranted innuendos about the profession.

The plaintiffs complain that the reference to the services rendered by Chartered Accountants as ‘debit and credit with reference to sexual services offered’ in the trailer to the web series is derogatory for the profession.

The lawyers who represented plaintiffs submitted that the depiction of the profession in such a scandalous manner is bound to defame the profession and the toppers in the examination that is conducted by the ICAI.

However, counsel appearing for Netflix and other defendants stated that the web series is completely fictional in nature, and there is also a disclaimer at the start of the series, which itself proclaims that the series has no reference to any individual or any real person,, dead or alive.

A Netflix lawyer further submitted that, without prejudice to the rights and contentions, Netflix will, within five days, add a disclaimer to the effect that in the series, reference is not made to any profession as well.