A local court in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, overturned a decision made by a Magistrate court that had condoned the delay in filing a chargesheet against the makers of the web series "Tandav." The case was initiated following a complaint by the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha, which accused director Ali Abbas Zafar, producer Himanshu, and writer Gaurav Solanki of inciting religious sentiments.

The FIR was registered on January 20, 2021, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 153(A) for promoting enmity between groups, 295(A) for outraging religious feelings, and 505(1) and 505(2) for statements conducive to public mischief. The maximum punishment for these offenses is three years of imprisonment.

The Gwalior Crime Branch summoned the accused on September 10, 2023, but did not file the chargesheet until April 29, 2024. Advocate Jay Bharadwaj, representing the accused, argued that the chargesheet should have been submitted by January 20, 2024, pointing out the excessive delay.

The Crime Branch applied for condonation of this delay, claiming they needed more time to record witness statements and collect evidence. They also cited the need to wait for sanction from the Union and state governments. Bharadwaj opposed this application, referencing various Supreme Court rulings and emphasizing that the controversial scenes had been removed from the series following public outcry.

While the Magistrate court initially allowed the Crime Branch’s application to condone the delay and scheduled further hearings for October, Zafar, Himanshu, and Solanki appealed to the Gwalior Sessions Court. After hearing arguments from both sides, the Sessions Court ruled in favor of the web series creators.

With the Sessions Court rejecting the condonation of delay, the case against the "Tandav" makers in Gwalior has effectively been closed. This was the only case in which a chargesheet had been filed against them.

While there are approximately seven other cases against the series makers nationwide, including three in Uttar Pradesh where the police submitted closure reports, the remaining cases include one in Mumbai, one in Karnataka, and one in Himachal Pradesh.