Mumbai: Following complaints from Christian viewers over a scene in an American OTT series that they allege is blasphemous, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has directed the producers to examine the grievance and respond to the complainant within 15 days.
Complaint Filed by Mumbai Resident
The complaint concerns an episode of the Apple TV+ dark comedy series Your Friends and Neighbours. The Ministry was acting on a grievance submitted on June 5 by Mumbai resident Vinod Roshan D’Souza.
“Episode 6 sparked significant backlash, particularly among Christian and Catholic viewers, over a scene in which the main characters break into a church, steal communion wafers from the tabernacle and eat them with jam as a snack,” D’Souza said.
Eucharist Misuse Offends Sentiments
According to D’Souza, the scenes offend Catholic religious sentiments as they involve the Christian sacrament of the Eucharist, in which bread, or the host, is consecrated and distributed as Holy Communion in many churches. He alleged that the episode depicts the misuse of Holy Communion and portrays actions that are disrespectful to Christian religious beliefs and practices. He urged the government to direct the streaming platform to remove the scenes in question.
The series had attracted similar criticism in the United States in June 2025, when Catholic organisations called for the removal of the same scene from the sixth episode.
Apple TV+’s office in Bengaluru did not respond to emails seeking comment.
IT Rules 2021 Invoked by Ministry
In its communication, the Ministry noted that Part III of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, prescribes a Code of Ethics for publishers of online curated content, including OTT platforms, and establishes a three-tier grievance redressal mechanism.
The Ministry stated that the complaint should be examined in accordance with the provisions of the IT Rules, 2021. It further directed that a response be communicated directly to the complainant, with a copy marked to the Ministry, within the stipulated period.
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