NCW summons Ullu App CEO Vibhu Agarwal and actor Ajaz Khan over controversial show House Arrest, disputed episodes removed, contestant defends the show saying they are not forced

Taking suo motu cognisance of the controversial show ‘House Arrest’, which was aired on streaming platform Ullu TV, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has issued summons to the CEO of Ullu TV, Vibhu Agarwal and the show’s host, Ajaz Khan. They are required to appear before the commission on May 9, 2025. The action of the NCW comes after the show faced major backlash for showing vulgar and obscene content.

 “It disregards the fundamental principles of consent, promotes sexual coercion under the guise of entertainment, and fails to follow any age-appropriate censorship guidelines,” said NCW Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar.

Notably, Ullu App has removed all disputed episodes from its platform and YouTube following backlash.

Female contestants made to remove their clothes, demonstrate sexual positions

The show, aired on the Ullu App and YouTube, sparked outrage after some video clips from the show went viral. In one of the clips, the show’s host, Ajaz Khan, asks contestants to demonstrate various sex positions as per Kamasutra, something that viewers have deemed vulgar and inappropriate.

In another video clip, Khan encourages the female contestants to remove their undergarments and other clothes. The contestants then start removing their clothes, trying to outdo one another.

The show was removed from the Ullu App following the controversy.

Contestant defends the show

One of the female contestants on the controversial show has come forward in defence of the show. The contestant named Gehena Vashishtha claimed that all the participants in the show were adults and they did everything of their own will. She added that the show’s host, Ajaz Khan, did not compel any contestant to do anything against their wishes. She alleged that the show was being unnecessarily targeted.

Supreme Court issues notice to the Central government

The controversy erupted a day after the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Centre in response to a petition seeking a directive to take appropriate steps to stop the streaming of sexually explicit content on OTT platforms. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih also issued notices to the Centre, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Ullu, ALTT, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and others. The Court urged Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, to take action on the concerns raised in the petition.

Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain appeared on behalf of the petitioners, demanded a check and ban on obscene and indecent content floating on social media and OTT and social media platforms.

“We have demanded that there should be a check and ban on obscene and indecent content floating on social media and OTTs. Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, representing the Union government, who appeared today, said that this is a serious concern and the government has brought some regulations. The court has issued a notice to the Centre and 9 OTTs and social media platforms which are showing such content…The court observed that this is a serious issue,” said Advocate Jain.

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