Bad Boy Billionaires: Court Allows Netflix to Stream Satyam Story

A civil court in Hyderabad has lifted the temporary stay that had stopped Netflix from releasing an episode on the Satyam scam. The episode is part of Netflix’s investigative documentary series Bad Boy Billionaires: India and focuses on the life and downfall of Byrraju Ramalinga Raju, the founder of Satyam Computer Services.

After the court order, Netflix released the episode, which was originally blocked in September 2020 through an ad-interim injunction. The episode explains how Satyam grew into one of India’s leading IT companies and how massive accounting fraud, involving thousands of crores, came to light in 2009. It also covers the criminal and regulatory actions that followed, including probes by agencies like the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate.

Netflix had challenged the stay before the Telangana High Court, which in 2022 criticised the long continuation of the ex parte injunction without a final decision. The High Court asked the trial court to decide the matter properly after hearing both sides.

Following this direction, the Hyderabad civil court has now removed the stay. However, the main civil suit filed by Ramalinga Raju against the episode is still pending and will be decided separately on merits.