SC rejects PIL for setting up autonomous body to monitor content on OTT, other platforms

Supreme Court dismisses PIL seeking regulation of OTT content, stating it falls under executive policy-making domain.

The Supreme Court on Friday ( October 18, 2024) dismissed a PIL seeking a direction to the Centre to set up an autonomous body to monitor and filter content and regulate videos on over-the-top (OTT) and other platforms in India, saying these are policy matters.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud (CJI) and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said that such issue falls under the policy making domain of the executive and requires wide consultations with various stake-holders.

"This is the problem of PILs. They are all on policy [matters] now and we miss out genuine PILs," the CJI said.

Lawyer Shashank Shekhar Jha, who had filed the PIL, said he be permitted to withdraw and approach the Union Ministry concerned with the grievances.

"No. Dismissed," the CJI said.

The PIL also referred to the Netflix series "IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack" to highlight the need for such a regulatory mechanism as the OTT platform claimed it was based on real-life incidents.

It said there exists a statutory film certification body -- Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) -- tasked with regulating public exhibition of films under the Cinematograph Act.