&nbsp;An Indian court`s decision to stall the release of a Netflix Inc series on four Indian tycoons facing fraud allegations ''freezes free speech" and hurts the company financially, the U.S. streaming giant has argued in a court filing seen by Reuters. 
 
'Bad Boy Billionaires' is a documentary series about liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, Sahara group`s Subrata Roy, Indian IT executive Ramalinga Raju and jeweller Nirav Modi. Netflix put the show on hold this month on order of a state court where Sahara alleged violation of Roy`s privacy rights. 
 
Roy is currently on bail in a case where he was ordered by court to repay billions of dollars to investors in a scheme which was found to be illegal. Roy denied wrongdoing in the case and has already repaid investors, his counsel said. 
 
Arguing for free speech in an appeal at the High Court of Bihar, Netflix said the docuseries was an assimilation of information available in public domain. The filing has not previously been reported. 
The pre-publication injunction granted by the court "freezes free speech," Netflix said in the filing earlier this month, which was reviewed by Reuters. It argued it has a right to free speech "on a matter of public interest." 
 
Some Netflix shows in India have faced court challenges and police complaints for obscenity or for hurting sentiments. The ongoing legal spat is among the most high-profile ones Netflix has faced in India, one of its key growth markets. 
 
The court in Bihar that gave the injunction earlier had said the series "would certainly damage the reputation" of Roy. Sahara and Netflix declined to comment. Roy could not be reached for comment. 
The U.S. streaming giant has argued it had invested large sums and done worldwide publicity on the series. The injunction, Netflix argued, resulted in irreparable monetary loss, as well as affected its goodwill and reputation. 
 
Netflix describes 'Bad Boy Billionaires'&nbsp;as an ''investigative docuseries (which) explores the greed, fraud and corruption that built up - and ultimately brought down - India`s most infamous tycoons." Netflix is locked in a legal spat not just with Sahara, but also another businessman Raju whose story was to appear in the series. 
 
Raju, accused of a $1-billion accounting fraud more than a decade ago, had secured a separate state court order against the show`s release, but Netflix has challenged it in a higher court, said A. Venkatesh, a lawyer representing Raju. 
 
Raju will continue to argue against the show`s release, said Venkatesh.Both Netflix`s appeals are likely to be heard in coming days. It was not clear if the other two tycoons - Modi and Mallya - have filed petitions against the release of the series. 
 
Modi is facing extradition attempts by India after his arrest in London last year over his alleged involvement in a $2 billion bank fraud. Mallya, too, is in Britain fighting India's extradition bid for alleged fraud at his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines. Modi and Mallya have denied any wrongdoing. 
 
Zulfiquar Memon of Indian law firm MZM Legal, who is part of team representing Modi in his extradition case, said they hadn`t filed any case to halt the release of the series, but were "sitting on the fence" tracking the ongoing proceedings. A lawyer for Mallya could not immediately be reached for comment.

An Indian court`s decision to stall the release of a Netflix Inc series on four Indian tycoons facing fraud allegations ''freezes free speech" and hurts the company financially, the U.

An Indian court`s decision to stall the release of a Netflix Inc series on four Indian tycoons facing fraud allegations ''freezes free speech" and hurts the company financially, the U.S. streaming giant has argued in a court filing seen by Reuters. 'Bad Boy Billionaires' is a documentary series about liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, Sahara group`s Subrata Roy, Indian IT executive Ramalinga Raju and jeweller Nirav Modi. Netflix put the show on hold this month on order of a state court where Sahara alleged violation of Roy`s privacy rights. Roy is currently on bail in a case where he was ordered by court to repay billions of dollars to investors in a scheme which was found to be illegal. Roy denied wrongdoing in the case and has already repaid investors, his counsel said. Arguing for free speech in an appeal at the High Court of Bihar, Netflix said the docuseries was an assimilation of information available in public domain. The filing has not previously been reported. The pre-publication injunction granted by the court "freezes free speech," Netflix said in the filing earlier this month, which was reviewed by Reuters. It argued it has a right to free speech "on a matter of public interest." Some Netflix shows in India have faced court challenges and police complaints for obscenity or for hurting sentiments. The ongoing legal spat is among the most high-profile ones Netflix has faced in India, one of its key growth markets. The court in Bihar that gave the injunction earlier had said the series "would certainly damage the reputation" of Roy. Sahara and Netflix declined to comment. Roy could not be reached for comment. The U.S. streaming giant has argued it had invested large sums and done worldwide publicity on the series. The injunction, Netflix argued, resulted in irreparable monetary loss, as well as affected its goodwill and reputation. Netflix describes 'Bad Boy Billionaires' as an ''investigative docuseries (which) explores the greed, fraud and corruption that built up - and ultimately brought down - India`s most infamous tycoons." Netflix is locked in a legal spat not just with Sahara, but also another businessman Raju whose story was to appear in the series. Raju, accused of a $1-billion accounting fraud more than a decade ago, had secured a separate state court order against the show`s release, but Netflix has challenged it in a higher court, said A. Venkatesh, a lawyer representing Raju. Raju will continue to argue against the show`s release, said Venkatesh.Both Netflix`s appeals are likely to be heard in coming days. It was not clear if the other two tycoons - Modi and Mallya - have filed petitions against the release of the series. Modi is facing extradition attempts by India after his arrest in London last year over his alleged involvement in a $2 billion bank fraud. Mallya, too, is in Britain fighting India's extradition bid for alleged fraud at his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines. Modi and Mallya have denied any wrongdoing. Zulfiquar Memon of Indian law firm MZM Legal, who is part of team representing Modi in his extradition case, said they hadn`t filed any case to halt the release of the series, but were "sitting on the fence" tracking the ongoing proceedings. A lawyer for Mallya could not immediately be reached for comment.

Netflix argues for free speech in court spat with Indian tycoons over 'Bad Boy Billionaires'

The Delhi High Court on Monday sought responses from the Centre and online video streaming platform Netflix on PNB scam accused Mehul Choksi's appeal against the dismissal of his plea to pre-screen the 'Bad Boy Billionaires' docuseries.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan issued notice to the Centre and Netflix and sought their stand by September 23 on Choksi's appeal.

Advocate Vijay Aggarwal, appearing for the PNB scam accused, said he was only seeking that the matter be remanded back to the single judge who had dismissed as not maintainable the plea to pre-screen the docuseries.

The single judge had on August 28 denied any relief to Choksi, saying a writ petition for enforcement of a private right was not maintainable.

The high court had said his remedy lies in a civil suit and granted him the liberty to raise the issue in a civil suit.

Choksi, the promoter of Gitanjali Gems, and his nephew, Nirav Modi, are accused in the Rs 13,500-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.

Choksi left the country last year and was granted citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda.

The documentary, which was scheduled for release in India on September 2, was promoted by Netflix as: "This investigative docuseries explores the greed, fraud and corruption that built up - and ultimately brought down - India's most infamous tycoons".

The Delhi High Court on Monday sought responses from the Centre and online video streaming platform Netflix on PNB scam accused Mehul Choksi's appeal against the dismissal of his plea to pre-screen the 'Bad Boy Billionaires' docuseries.

The Delhi High Court on Monday sought responses from the Centre and online video streaming platform Netflix on PNB scam accused Mehul Choksi's appeal against the dismissal of his plea to pre-screen the 'Bad Boy Billionaires' docuseries. A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan issued notice to the Centre and Netflix and sought their stand by September 23 on Choksi's appeal. Advocate Vijay Aggarwal, appearing for the PNB scam accused, said he was only seeking that the matter be remanded back to the single judge who had dismissed as not maintainable the plea to pre-screen the docuseries. The single judge had on August 28 denied any relief to Choksi, saying a writ petition for enforcement of a private right was not maintainable. The high court had said his remedy lies in a civil suit and granted him the liberty to raise the issue in a civil suit. Choksi, the promoter of Gitanjali Gems, and his nephew, Nirav Modi, are accused in the Rs 13,500-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case. Choksi left the country last year and was granted citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda. The documentary, which was scheduled for release in India on September 2, was promoted by Netflix as: "This investigative docuseries explores the greed, fraud and corruption that built up - and ultimately brought down - India's most infamous tycoons".

High Court seeks Centre, Netflix response to Mehul Choksi's plea on 'Bad Boy Billionaires' docuseries

The release of a Netflix series on four Indian tycoons facing fraud allegations has been put on hold following a state court order, two sources said on Thursday, in the latest legal tussle faced by the U.S. streaming giant in a key market. 
 
The 'Bad Boy Billionaires: India'&nbsp;documentary series about liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, Subrata Roy of the Sahara group, founder and former head of Satyam Computer Services Ramalinga Raju and jeweller Nirav Modi was set for release this week. 
 
The Araria district court in eastern Bihar state last week ordered a stay on its release after the Sahara group argued it would damage Roy`s reputation, according to a copy of the order which is not public but was seen by Reuters on Thursday. 
 
The court order said the series "would certainly damage the reputation of the head of the Sahara family". 
Roy is currently on bail in a case where he has been ordered to repay billions of dollars to investors of a scheme run by Sahara which was found to be illegal. 
 
Netflix had sought to appeal against the directive in the Supreme Court but was directed by judges on Wednesday to approach a higher state court first, the two sources with knowledge of the matter said. 
"Netflix is currently deliberating what to do … the show`s release is absolutely on hold," said one of the sources. Netflix declined to comment. 
 
The company counts India as a key growth market but its shows there have faced court cases and police complaints for obscenity or for hurting sentiments.

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On Thursday, Netflix's website did not show a trailer or episodes of 'Bad Boy Billionaires', but described it as an "investigative docuseries (which) explores the greed, fraud and corruption that built up - and ultimately brought down - India`s most infamous tycoons." 
 
Raju, who was accused of a $1 billion accounting fraud more than a decade ago, has also secured an order from another state`s court against the show`s release, the sources said.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/hollywood/news-Remembering-Chadwick-Boseman-Marvel-pays-an-emotional-tribute-to-its-King-324752" hreflang="en">Remembering Chadwick Boseman: Marvel pays an emotional tribute to its 'King'</a> 
 
Modi is facing extradition attempts by India after his arrest in London last year for alleged involvement in a $2 billion bank fraud, while Mallya too is in Britain fighting India`s extradition bid for alleged fraud at his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines. 
 
It was not clear if Modi or Mallya have filed petitions against the release of the series.

The release of a Netflix series on four Indian tycoons facing fraud allegations has been put on hold following a state court order, two sources said on Thursday, in the latest legal tussle faced by the U.

The release of a Netflix series on four Indian tycoons facing fraud allegations has been put on hold following a state court order, two sources said on Thursday, in the latest legal tussle faced by the U.S. streaming giant in a key market. The 'Bad Boy Billionaires: India' documentary series about liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, Subrata Roy of the Sahara group, founder and former head of Satyam Computer Services Ramalinga Raju and jeweller Nirav Modi was set for release this week. The Araria district court in eastern Bihar state last week ordered a stay on its release after the Sahara group argued it would damage Roy`s reputation, according to a copy of the order which is not public but was seen by Reuters on Thursday. The court order said the series "would certainly damage the reputation of the head of the Sahara family". Roy is currently on bail in a case where he has been ordered to repay billions of dollars to investors of a scheme run by Sahara which was found to be illegal. Netflix had sought to appeal against the directive in the Supreme Court but was directed by judges on Wednesday to approach a higher state court first, the two sources with knowledge of the matter said. "Netflix is currently deliberating what to do … the show`s release is absolutely on hold," said one of the sources. Netflix declined to comment. The company counts India as a key growth market but its shows there have faced court cases and police complaints for obscenity or for hurting sentiments. Also read: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sign a multi year production deal with Netflix in major Hollywood move On Thursday, Netflix's website did not show a trailer or episodes of 'Bad Boy Billionaires', but described it as an "investigative docuseries (which) explores the greed, fraud and corruption that built up - and ultimately brought down - India`s most infamous tycoons." Raju, who was accused of a $1 billion accounting fraud more than a decade ago, has also secured an order from another state`s court against the show`s release, the sources said. Also read: Remembering Chadwick Boseman: Marvel pays an emotional tribute to its 'King' Modi is facing extradition attempts by India after his arrest in London last year for alleged involvement in a $2 billion bank fraud, while Mallya too is in Britain fighting India`s extradition bid for alleged fraud at his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines. It was not clear if Modi or Mallya have filed petitions against the release of the series.

Netflix India's 'Bad Boy Billionaires' show on hold following court order