Allahabad High Court on Friday canceled the first information report (FIR) deposited against Farhan Akhar and RiteshSidhwani, the producers of the web series Mirzapur, in a case filed against them for allegedly inflicting religious, social, and regional sentiments through their representation of the city of Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh in the web series. The FIR against Karan Anshuman, Gurmeet Singh, Puneet Krishna, and Vineet Krishna, who were responsible for writing and directing two seasons of the show, was also quashed by a Division Bench of Justices MC Tripathi and Subhash Vidyarthi. Sidhwani, co-founder of Excel Entertainment, which produced Mirzapur, and Akhtar appealed to the High Court after filing an FIR for offenses under Articles 295A of the Indian Penal Code (willful and malicious acts aimed at insulting the religious feelings of any class by insulting their religion or religious beliefs), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) (IPC). The FIR claimed that the web series portrayed the town of Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, in an indecent and inappropriate manner. The FIR was filed on January 17 in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, based on a complaint filed by one Arvind Chaturvedi, who claimed that "certain” the content of the series, portrays the city of Mirzapur as anti-social and crime-infested, and that the show promotes illicit relationships and paints a skewed picture of the legal and judicial systems.
Mirzapur city is portrayed in the show to be removed from the reality of life in Mirzapur. As a result; the complainant claimed that the show "hurt his feelings.
The producers were the first to file a petition in the High Court, followed by the directors and writers. In opposing the FIR, the petitioners stated that the series was purely a work of fiction, which was also clarified by a disclaimer at the beginning of each episode. It was pointed out that the said disclaimer also stated that the show's creators respect all faiths and religions and that all places and events in the series are entirely fictitious.