The Delhi High Court has taken action against web series called “College Romance” over the usage of vulgar language. On Monday, the court made strong remarks about how its sexually explicit language could corrupt naive and gullible minds because the content was widely available. An earlier order to file FIR against the platform and its actors were upheld by the court.
The OTT platform TVF’s “College Romance” has obscene, lascivious, and profane content, according to the High Court, which has asked the government to take steps to monitor the language on such platforms.
“The power of obscenity and sexual explicitness of language used in this web series… cannot be undermined and it has a definite effect of depraving and corrupting the minds of people, especially the impressionable minds,” said Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of Delhi High Court.
The judge stated that the language was “so obscene and vulgar” that she had to watch episodes using earphones.
“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 the professional or public domain or even with family members at home,” the judgment said.
“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,” it said.
The judge ruled that the series’ creators should face prosecution under Section 67, which deals with “lascivious” content, and Section 67 (A), which deals with publishing or disseminating sexually explicit content. However, the instruction to file an FIR is not followed.
Judge Sharma stated that the court’s task was difficult because it had to find a delicate equilibrium between free speech and freedom of expression and broadcast the series to the general public without proper classification of obscene content as the words “sexually explicit acts” conjure up.
“Words and languages are a very powerful medium and needless to say, words have the power to paint and draw a picture at the same time,” the court said.
The High Court also ordered the government to take steps to strictly enforce IT rules and intermediary ethics codes.
The court was hearing a petition filed by TVF challenging an order issued on September 17, 2019, asking for an FIR
The bench said, “The task of the Court, in this case, has been tough as it had to strike a delicate balance between free speech and freedom of expression and transmitting to all without classification the content which is obscene, profane, lascivious, sexually explicit in spoken language as it conjures with the words ‘sexually explicit acts'”
“College Romance” is available on the internet via platforms such as YouTube, the TVF web portal, and mobile apps.
The episode in question was Episode 5 of Season 1 of the show, which aired in September 2018. The episode, titled “Happily F***ed Up,” is said to have featured vulgar and obscene language and “represented women in an indecent or obscene” manner.
Delhi High Court criticises the sexually explicit language used in TVF web series ‘College Romance’.
The court says that the language used in the show has a “definite effect of depraving and corrupting the minds of young people”. #DelhiHighCourt #TVF #CollegeRomance pic.twitter.com/tzuLh7b2Mr
— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) March 6, 2023
