HC frames charges against BBC & Netflix in contempt case

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: A division bench of the High Court of Karnataka on Thursday framed charges against documentary film makers Amoghavarsha JS, Sarath Champati, broadcasters BBC, Discovery and Netflix among others in a civil contempt of court petition.

The film makers and broadcasters are accused of disorienting a 2021 High Court interim oder regarding the release and telecast of the documentary film Wild Karnataka.

The original complainants in the case are Ravindra N Redkar and Ullash Kumar RK. Mudskipper Labs and ITV Studios Global had approached Kalyan Varma and Amoghavarsha to film a documentary in 2014.

A MoU was signed with the Karnataka Forest Department to shoot a documentary. But allegedly without approval from formal approval of the competent authorities services of the KFD was obtained.

The KFD was to be vested with the copyrights of the documentary and raw footage. Icon Films of England and Wales was brought on board allegedly without the knowledge of KFD.

The film was premiered in 2019. The companies then entered into agreements with BBC, Discovery and Netflix to broadcast them though the KFD had specified the film would not be commercially used.

The film was also released in theatres. The original footage shot was 400 hours and the KFD had copyright over all the raw footage the petitioners/complainants claimed.

The HC on 29.06.2021 passed an interim order in the petition forbidding all the respondents from publishing/telecasting the film.

However the film was released in theatre and telecast on broadcaster platforms. The complainants then filed the contempt petition before the HC.

The original petition is also still pending before the HC. (CCC 874/2021)