Allahabad high court stays arrest of Mirzapur's directors, writers

The Allahabad high court, on Thursday, issued a stay on the arrest of the writers and directors of the Amazon Prime series Mirzapur. The bench, headed by Justice Pritinker Diwaker and Justice Deepak Verma, also issued a notice to the state government and the complainant seeking its reply in the matter. 

An FIR had been registered against directors Karan Anshuman and Gurmmeet Singh, as well as writers Vineet Krishna and Puneet Krishna, on 17 January at the Mirzapur police station at the instance of Arvind Chaturvedi, a local journalist.

According to the legal website, LiveLaw.in, sections 295-A, 504, 505 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code and section 67A of the Information Technology Act were invoked against the petitioners. 

The primary allegation levelled against the makers is that the show depicts the titular city in a bad light, as anti-social and filled with criminal activities, while also showing illicit relationships, casteism and abusive language. 

The makers countered the allegation by submitting that the series is purely a work of fiction, specifically clarified by means of disclaimers at the beginning of each episode. The makers also submitted that the first season of the series was streamed in November 2018, and after its success, the second season was premiered in October 2020. The FIR was lodged three months after the second season was launched.

The court, on 29 January, had ordered a stay on the arrest of producers Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar of Excel Entertainment. 

Apart from the FIR, the makers of Mirzapur are dealing with several legal complaints. The Supreme Court issued notices last week regarding a plea seeking a ban on the series.