Netflix’s Bad Boy Billionaires- India stayed by court over Ramalinga’s plea

Hyderabad, Sept. 2: A local civil court has issued an interim stay restraining Netflix from airing its Web series Bad Boy Billionaires- India on a petition filed by B. Ramalinga Raju, who was convicted in the multicrore accounting scandal of Satyam Computer Services Limited.

Additional chief judge B. Prathima, while issuing notices to Netflix Inc in USA, Netflix Entertainment Services India LLP and nodal officer, department of electronics and information technology, posted the matter for further hearing on November 18 when the plea came up on Tuesday.

The Web series, scheduled

for release in India on Wednesday, is promoted by Netflix as an “investigative docuseries” that “explores the greed, fraud

and corruption that built up — and ultimately brought down — India’s most infamous tycoons”.

Ramalinga Raju alleged that the so- called investigative docuseries will infringe his rights of fairtrial and privacy besides defaming and tarnishing his image across nations.

The petitioner requested the court to declare the proposed move to release the docuseries as amounting to defamation and conducting of media trial pending the adjudication of case against him in the competent courts of law.

In April 2015, the additional chief metropolitan magistrate’s court had awarded seven- year rigorous imprisonment to Satyam Computers founder B. Ramalinga Raju and nine others in the over ` 7,000- crore accounting fraud.