Delhi Court Issues Notice to Kunal Kamra for video mocking Eknath Shinde
A Delhi court has issued notice to comedian Kunal Kamra on a criminal revision petition seeking registration of an FIR over satirical comments allegedly mocking Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, with Additional Sessions Judge passing the order on January 20, 2026 and listing the matter for further hearing on March 20. The revision challenges a September 15, 2025 order of Judicial Magistrate, who had declined to direct the police to lodge an FIR under Section 175(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, holding that Kamra’s video titled Naya Bharat constituted satire and political parody on alleged defections within the Shiv Sena and, while potentially offensive or distasteful, did not disclose any cognisable offence, observing that the remedy for offensive speech lies in counter-speech rather than criminal prosecution.
Case Title: Sandeep Chaudhary vs Kunal Kamra
Citation: CR Rev No. 283/2025
Read more about it here. Access the order here.
Madras High Court Quashes Collection of Sensitive Student Data in Schools
The Madras High Court has quashed a directive issued by the Tamil Nadu Education Department requiring government-run schools to collect detailed personal and social background data of students studying in Classes 9 to 12, holding that such collection of sensitive information without a clear and justified purpose violates students’ right to privacy and amounts to discrimination, particularly against those from vulnerable and stigmatic backgrounds. The Bench while allowing the writ petition found that the September 4, 2025 directive of the department mandating teachers to gather and upload information on aspects such as caste, migration status, gender non-conformity, abuse, and family history to the EMIS portal was an abuse of power, and rejected the State’s justification that the data was intended to provide special attention to students or was sought in its role as parens patriae. The Court observed that “It is not explained as to what is the special attention that is are going to show to the students. The information are very sensitive and manner in which they are going to collect, will necessarily traverse into the privacy of the young students”.
Case Title: Ameer Alam v. The Government of Tamil Nadu
Case No: W.P.(MD) No.29474 of 2025
Read more about it here. Access the order here.
Producer of ‘The Raja Saab’ Files Cyber Crime Complaint Over Impersonation and Defamation
The producer of the film ‘The Raja Saab’, SKN, has recently lodged a complaint at the Cyber Crime Police Station of Hyderabad to report a series of malicious activities involving identity theft and digital defamation. The complaint targets specific social media handles that have been impersonating the filmmaker to post derogatory and misleading remarks about the Prabhas-starrer The Raja Saab and its cast. It was alleged that the misinformation campaigns were intended to create confusion and spread negativity.
Read more about it here.
Madras High Court Expresses Concern Over Lack of Hearing Opportunity for CBFC
The Madras High Court has raised significant procedural concerns regarding a single judge’s directive that ordered the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to grant a UA16+ certificate for actor Vijay’s film Jana Nayagan without providing the Board an adequate opportunity to respond. During an appeal filed by CBFC, a division bench observed that deciding complex statutory issues within a single day of hearing, without allowing the Board to file a counter-affidavit, risks establishing an unhealthy legal precedent. The Court has also rejected submission of the Producers that the case was decided swiftly since there was no factual dispute, and the Court remarked that the urgency for the release had been created by the producers themselves. The High Court has reserved its orders on the matter.
Read more about it here.
Delhi High Court Extends Interim PPL Copyright Licence Arrangement Pending Supreme Court Decision
The Delhi High Court has continued an interim arrangement requiring Pass Code Hospitality to deposit copyright licence fees payable to Phonographic Performance Limited, notwithstanding an unresolved challenge to PPL’s authority to issue licences without valid registration under Section 33 of the Copyright Act, 1957. A Division Bench in a related matter has held that PPL lacks such authority. Justice Tejas Karia preserved the status quo pending final adjudication by the Supreme Court, leaving the parties’ rights and obligations in suspension.
Justice Tejas Karia noted that Azure Hospitality had raised doubts regarding the plaintiff’s ability to issue licences and collect licence fees in the absence of registration under Section 33 of the Copyright Act, 1957, but declined to rule on this issue, observing that PPL’s legal authority is presently under consideration before the Supreme Court. It was also observed that Pass Code Hospitality’s refund application is also pending before the Delhi High Court, making it premature to disturb the interim arrangement. The Court directed Pass Code to deposit a further INR 15 lakhs for the period from May 2025 to February 2026, and permitted PPL to withdraw INR 8 lakhs immediately, and ordered the remaining INR 7 lakhs to be retained in fixed deposit, thereby preserving the status quo.
Read more about it here.
Mumbai Police Register Fresh Cheating Case Against Vikram Bhatt
Mumbai Police have registered a fresh cheating case against filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his daughter Krishna Bhatt on a complaint by a Pune-based film financier alleging fraud of INR 13.5 crore, arising from investments made in 2021 for proposed film projects on assurances of high returns. The FIR, registered under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code at Versova police station, alleges that the amount was neither invested as promised nor refunded despite repeated follow-ups. Given the scale of the allegations, the investigation has been transferred to the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai Police, adding to Bhatt’s legal troubles following his recent arrest by Rajasthan Police in a separate cheating case.
Read more about it here.
