The Punjab and Haryana High Court issued notice on Monday in a lawsuit to take down the series Paatal Lok from Amazon Prime Video, and more broadly, to censor web series. The petition, filed by lawyer Gurdeepinder Singh Dhillon, asks the government to regulate web series, a demand that is also being adjudicated in other courts (more on that below). Dhillon had filed a police complaint to get the show taken down on May 24. We have reached out to Amazon for comment. Netflix, ALT Balaji, Sony Liv, Voot, Hotstar, MX Player, and ZEE5 have also been impleaded in this case. Petitioner's arguments Derogatory to Sikhs: The petition argues that the way Sikhs are depicted in the show — committing murder, gang rape, and using casteist slurs — "has the effect of creating enmity by provoking feelings of hatred against a particular community, in other communities". Violation of Section 67 of IT Act: In addition to what the petition describes as "violent, vulgar, distorted, anti-social, illegal and minority oppressing content", the petition also argues that scenes in Paatal Lok that depict sexual assault violate Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 — which gives the government broad powers to punish content that depicts "sexually explicit act[s], etc." Indecent representation of women: The petition also argues that a gang rape scene in the show's third episode violates the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986. That Act was amended in 2013 to include digital media but also included an exception for content "in the interest…
