The upcoming ZEE5 web series, Lawrence of Punjab, has faced its first legal test with Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring seeking a ban on it.
Punjab Congress Chief moves HC against Lawrence of Punjab
Amarinder has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking a ban on the release of the series based on the life of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
The series is scheduled to release on April 27. But first, the makers will have to respond to Amarinder’s petition, the hearing for which is scheduled on 24 April. The petition alleges that the series misrepresents the life of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. It says that Bishnoi is involved in illegal activities and that his misrepresentation could negatively influence young people. It also discusses the broader issue of the lack of pre-certification for OTT content and calls for stricter regulatory guidelines.
Before filing the PIL, Amarinder wrote a letter to ZEE5’s Grievance Officer, seeking the immediate suspension or deferment of the web series’ release.
In his letter addressed to Akshaya Joshi, Grievance Officer, ZEE5, he wrote, “I am constrained to submit the present complaint raising serious legal and constitutional concerns regarding the proposed release of the web series titled ‘Lawrence of Punjab’ on your platform. It has come to my knowledge from promotional material and credible public sources that the said series is purportedly based on the life and activities of a notorious gangster, Lawrence Bishoni, involved in organised criminal networks, against whom multiple serious criminal proceedings are pending before competent courts.”
‘Promotion of unlawful activities’
Amarinder added that the platform’s description of the series itself shows that “it would be glorifying a criminal and a gangster”. The letter further reads: “The description of the web series itself shows that it would be glorifying the life of a gangster, which would amount to the promotion of unlawful activities. The subject matter of the series is therefore not fictional in abstraction, but relates to a real individual associated with ongoing criminality, thereby attracting heightened legal scrutiny. The web series, therefore, would be glorifying a criminal and a gangster, which would amount to direct promotion of unlawful activity.”
Lawrence of Punjab’s title is a play on the Oscar-winning classic Lawrence of Arabia. The series is scheduled to release on ZEE5 on April 27. It charts the rise of Lawrence Bishnoi, a dreaded gangster who first made national news after planning hits on Bollywood superstar Salman Khan over his alleged role in the blackbuck poaching case from the 90s.