Delhi HC Refuses To Halt Streaming Of 'To Kill A Tiger' Netflix Documentary In PIL Over 'Disclosure' Of Minor Rape Survivor's Identity

The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to stop the streaming of Netflix documentary “To Kill a Tiger" based on the gang-rape of a 13 year old minor victim in a village in Jharkhand.

The documentary was released in Canada in 2022. It was released in India on March 10.

A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela refused to pass at this stage any ad-interim order in a PIL seeking to stop streaming of the film over alleged disclosure and non-masking of the minor's identity.

The court issued notice on the plea filed by NGO Tulir Charitable Trust seeking action against Netflix and documentary's Director Nisha Pahuja for allegedly violating the provisions of POCSO Act.

The counsel appearing for the petitioner contended that when the film was shot, the victim was still a minor and the consent was obtained only when she attained majority.

He said that the film was shot in India for a period of 3.5 years and the filmmaker knew that the rape survivor was a minor but no attempt was made to mask or blur her identity.

It was further contended that the POCSO Act, Juvenile Justice Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) prohibits revealing of identity of a minor victim.

The counsel said that the consent obtained after the minor attained majority was kind of a “Stockholm syndrome” as the girl could not have refused to the filmmaker's demands.

On the other hand, the counsel appearing for the respondent submitted that at the time of filming the documentary, consent was obtained by the girl's parents as she was minor at that time.

He said that one common thread in the three laws referred to by the petitioner is that the preclusion against publication is only during the period of majority of the child and not thereafter.

He said that once the child attained majority, she should and does have the ability to take about what happened to her if she so chooses.

After hearing the parties, the court proceeded to issue notice in the PIL and said that no ad interim order is required to be passed today.

Title: TULIR CHARITABLE TRUST v. UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Del) 837