The High Court of Karnataka in a recent interim order restrained broadcasting of the documentary film ‘Wild Karnataka’ or ‘India’s Wild Karnataka’.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka passed the order restraining Sarath Champati and four other respondents or anyone claiming under or through them from using, publishing, reproducing, broadcasting, telecasting, marketing, selling, distributing, exhibiting or in any way dealing and/or any part of it and/or the raw footage captured by them and their team under the MOU dated 3 August 2014.
The petition was filed by Ravindra Redkar and R K Ullas Kumar. The petition claimed that the film is being used for commercial purposes across the globe by entering into an agreement with third parties. The petitioners alleged that the Karnataka Forest Department, which was the authority under the Wildlife Protection Act, did not even invite competitive bidding under the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Act.
The petitioners said certain clauses in the MoU were tailor-made to benefit private respondents. The bench has posted the next hearing to August 3.