The Bombay High Court recently set aside a First Information Report (FIR) against a Netherlands-based gaming company accused of illegally streaming popular Viacom 18 shows, including Bigg Boss, Naagin, Asur, and IPL 2023, on multiple regional Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms.

A division bench comprising Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Dr. Neela Gokhale observed that Play Ventures NV and its employee, Gulamabbas Muni—who also serves as the CEO of Sohail Khan Productions—had amicably resolved their dispute with the Viacom 18 Group, which had claimed losses amounting to ₹100 crores.

The judges observed that the petitioners, Play Ventures and Gulamabbas Muni, had "unauthorisedly" broadcast several programs, including Asur, Crackdown Web Series, Big Boss (a reality show), Nagin, Choti Sardarni, and other series from the Colors Channel in regional languages on various OTT platforms. The court further noted that these programs were "paid content" belonging to Viacom 18. Additionally, the judges highlighted that the petitioners had also unlawfully broadcast the Tata IPL 2023 series.

"It is alleged that due to this unauthorized broadcasting of TV shows and IPL series, the First Informant (Viacom 18) company suffered a loss of about Rs.100 Crores. According to the First Informant, the Petitioners had no valid license or permission to broadcast the said contents," the judges noted in the order passed on February 12.

Therefore, the Viacom 18 approached the Nodal Cyber Police Station in Mumbai and lodged an FIR on April 20, 2023 under sections 420 (cheating), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 468 (forging for cheating) and 469 (forging for harming one's reputation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the relevant provisions of the Information Technologies (IT) Act, 2000 as well as the Copyright Act, 1957.

However, in the interregnum, the parties have 'amicably' settled their dispute. "The Settlement Agreement records comprehensively the mutual understanding between the parties to avoid prolonged dispute and litigation. It is stated that continuance of the proceedings before the Trial Court will serve no purpose," the bench noted.

Acknowledging the settlement, the bench annulled both the case pending before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court and the FIR filed by the Viacom 18 group.

Senior Advocate Aabad Ponda along with Advocates Tapan Thatte, Siddhi Sawant and Nikhil Waje instructed by Dipesh Mehta & Associates appeared for the Petitioners.

Additional Public. Prosecutor Vitthal Konde-Deshmukh represented the State.

Advocates Jay Kumar Bhardwaj and Harsh Ramchandani represented Viacom 18 Group.

Case Title: Play Ventures NV vs State of Maharashtra (Criminal Writ Petition 821 of 2025)