IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, is once again embroiled in controversy. The show, featuring an ensemble cast including Vijay Varma, Dia Mirza, and Naseeruddin Shah, has attracted legal action from the news agency ANI. ANI has filed a lawsuit against Netflix and the show's creators, accusing them of using footage of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, General Pervez Musharraf, and terrorist Masood Azhar without proper permission.

A report by Bar and Bench says that ANI alleges that their copyrighted archival footage and trademarked content were used without a license in four episodes of the series. The Delhi High Court has issued a notice to Netflix and the show's producers, with a hearing scheduled for Friday.

Sidhant Kumar, ANI's counsel, stated, "The series has taken up their copyrighted archival footage without permission" and further claimed that their brand and trademark are being 'tarnished'.

This lawsuit adds to the series' ongoing controversies. Earlier, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack faced backlash for its use of 'Hindu' codenames for the hijackers, sparking accusations of misrepresentation. The series, based on the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight IC 814, used codenames such as 'Bhola' and 'Shankar' for the terrorists.

Critics pointed out that the real names of the hijackers, Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny, Ahmad Qazi, Zahoor Mistry, and Shakir were not used. In response to the outcry, Netflix has added a disclaimer including the real names of the terrorists.