Delhi High Court Issues Notice On Plea Against Release Of Web Series 'UP 77' Based On Slain Gangster Vikas Dubey's Life

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday (December 23) issued notice on a plea against release of web series “UP 77” purportedly based on the life of gangster Vikas Dubey who was killed in a police encounter in July 2020.

The series is slated to release on December 25 on Waves OTT platform.

Justice Sachin Datta sought response of the Union Government, the OTT platform and maker of the web show.

The matter will be heard tomorrow.

The plea has been moved by Dubey's wife, Richa Dubey. She claimed that the show is produced on her and her deceased husband's private and marital life, without her consent.

The plea states that Dubey's sons are still undergoing emotional, social and psychological consequences of their father's death and have consciously chosen to live away from public glare.

The wife contends that the depiction of the series is fictionalised, exaggerated and sensational, aimed solely at commercial gain.

“That the Petitioner apprehends that the film will Permanently damage her dignity; Subject her and her sons to public ridicule and also Re-open the past trauma and may endanger her social standing and safety,” the petition says.

The plea seeks to restrain the makers of the series from releasing or broadcasting the content.

Dubey was killed in an encounter on the morning of July 10, 2020, when a police vehicle carrying him from Ujjain to Kanpur met with an accident and he tried to escape from the spot in Bhauti area, the police had said. Prior to Dubey's encounter, five of his alleged associated were killed in separate encounters.

In April 2022, a three-member inquiry commission headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice(Retd) B S Chauhan had given clean chit to UP Police as it had not found evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Uttar Pradesh police in the encounter killings of gangster Vikas Dubey and his five associates.

On July 22, 2020, the Supreme Court had approved Uttar Pradesh government's draft notification to appoint Justice (retd) Chauhan as chairman of the 3-member inquiry commission to probe killings of eight policemen and the subsequent encounter killings of Dubey and his associates.

In August, 2020 the Top Court had dismissed a plea preferred by Advocate Ghanshyam Upadhyay seeking to dissolve the inquiry commission set up to look into the gangster's alleged killing. Upadhyay in the petition had raised questions with regards to Justice BS Chauhan heading the commission.

Title: Richa Dubey v. Union of India & Ors