Language in TVF web series 'College Romance' obscene, vulgar; had to use earphones to watch it: Delhi High Court orders FIR

The Delhi High Court on Monday ruled that the language used in the web series 'College Romance' streaming on over the top (OTT) platform TVF, is obscene, profane and vulgar which will deprave and corrupt the the minds of young people. .Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said that she had to watch the episodes of show with the aid of earphones in the chamber as the profanity of language used was such that it could not have been heard without shocking or alarming the people around."The Court had to watch the episodes with the aid of earphones, in the chamber, as the profanity of language used was of the extent that it could not have been heard without shocking or alarming the people around and keeping in mind the decorum of language which is maintained by a common prudent man whether in professional or public domain or even with family members at home. Most certainly, this Court notes that this is not the language that nation’s youth or otherwise citizens of this country use, and this language cannot be called the frequently spoken language used in our country," the judgment noted.Hence, the single-judge ruled that TVF, the show's director Simarpreet Singh and actor Apoorva Arora are liable to face action under Section 67 (publishing or transmitting, in the electronic form, any material which is lascivious) and 67A (punishment for publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually explicit act) of Information Technology (IT) Act.The Court, therefore, upheld an order of the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) ordering Delhi Police to register first information report (FIR) against the three accused. The ACMM court had directed the Police to register FIR against TVF, Singh and Arora under Sections 292 (sale etc of obscene books, pamphlets, paper, writing, drawing, painting, representation, figure or any other object), 294 (punishment for obscene acts in public) of the Indian Penal Code as well as Section 67 and 67A of the IT Act. .In a detailed order, Justice Sharma said that in the name of individual freedom, such language cannot be permitted to be served to the general public and be represented to the world at large as if this is the language that this country and youth in educational institutions speaks."Holding so, will amount to a dangerous trend and will be against public interest," the judge has said.The bench said that the language used in the show does not pass test of morale decency community test of a common man. "The language which is being today called normal college culture and lifestyle is bound to percolate to school going children since it is unclassified and tomorrow may be called normal school culture, since the new generation will learn from the older generation. It will be a sad day for society in case the same vulgar and obscene language is spoken in schools, streets and houses in the name of new culture of the students.".The Court was dealing with the petitions filed by TVF, Singh and Arora challenging an order of the Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) and the ACMM. The ACMM had directed the Police to register FIRs against the petitioner under Sections 292 and 294 of the IPC and Section 67 and 67A of the IT Act.It was challenged before the ASJ who dropped the IPC sections but ordered the police to register the FIR under IT Act. This was based on a complaint that vulgar and obscene language was used in Episode 5 of Season 1 of the show. It was alleged that not only the title of the episode, 'Happily Fucked Up, is vulgar but it also showed indecent representation or obscene portrayal of girls or women in worst form.The Court was told that the video in question is available to be viewed by everyone in India on YouTube without their being any age restriction mechanism. The judge then said that she watched some of the episodes of the show albeit using earphones..After considering the case and watching the show, Justice Sharma said that the concept of morality differs in every country and the Courts need not look to the west or any other part of the world except towards itself in this regard.The judge said that the Indian morality and values can only be judged in the Indian context, keeping in mind the contemporary standards of civility and morality.Thus, the bench underscored that if the content of the web series is examined in the light of the contemporary moral and civil standards of the country, it can be said that the majority of people of India do not use such language and are offended and disgusted with excessiveness of profanity, vulgarity and obscenity of the language used. .In her order, Justice Sharma referred to a particular scene where the male protagonist named 'Bagga' is using foul language and the same is later repeated by the female character. The judge said that "the bug of obscene, profane and bad language of ‘Bagga’ cannot be allowed to pollute the language of people.".She further said that the language used in the show cannot be heard sitting with one’s elders or children. "While observing so, the Court may be looked upon as old fashioned or belonging to old school. However, this Court is of firm opinion that while examining the pride of the nation i.e. the language used for ages, there can be no question of profanity being considered part of this language even with passage of time."Justice Sharma rejected the argument that the courts cannot cannot act as moral police and therefore, cannot impose choices on people. She noted that in Indian society, even today, swear words are not spoken in the presence of the elderly, at religious places, or in front of women or children. "To uphold the contention of the petitioners that hurling such obscenities in public forums and by the young generation in general, in the universities and colleges, is so common that it is considered natural, without causing any distress, could amount to holding that a certain standard of decency cannot be expected on streets, public places or educational institutions. Such linguistic decay of Hindi language will go beyond falling standards in society," the court observed. It added, "The use of profanity and words which are taboo in general parlance in the web series on the pretext that this is how the new generation behaves and speaks or communicates, in this Court’s opinion, is not the mirror of such social realities and is certainly distorted. Though such web series may portray a certain part of society, the popular culture of this country still identifies with and adopts point of view of civil language.".Justice Sharma concluded that the obscenity in the web series and the fact that it is available to the public at large is sufficient to warrant criminal prohibition.She, therefore, ordered the Police to register FIR under Sections of IPC and IT Act. However, the judge clarified that the direction to register FIR does not include a direction to arrest any of the accused/petitioner..The Court also asked the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) to take steps for enforcing stricter application of its IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.The Central government was also asked to make any laws or rules as deemed appropriate in its wisdom, in light of the observations made in this judgment."A copy of this judgment be forwarded to the Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, and concerned officials of YouTube India.".Senior Advocate Siddharth Aggarwal along with advocates Neha, Anirudh Gotety, Sowjhanya Srikumar and Vishwajeet Singh Bhati appeared for actor Apoorva Arora. Advocate Vinayak Mehrotra appeared for TVF. Simarpreet Singh was represented through advocates Atul Singh and Aatreya Singh. Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Naresh Kumar Chahar appeared for Delhi Police. .[Read Order]