High court sends notice to Centre, CBFC on Delhi riots movie
The pleas against the movie’s release were filed by Sharjeel Imam and victims and accused of the riots including Tasleem Ahmed
The Delhi high court on Thursday issued notice to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and the Centre, in pleas seeking directions to CBFC and the ministry of information and broadcasting to defer the release of “Delhi-2020” , a movie based on the riots that roiled the national capital in February 2020, till the conclusion of the trial in the larger conspiracy case involving the riots , on the ground that its release on February 2, would prejudice the trial.

A bench of justice Sachin Datta sought the Centre and CBFC’s response in two pleas – one filed by jailed student activist Sharjeel Imam and the other by victims and accused of the riots including Tasleem Ahmed. The court fixed January 31 as the next date of hearing.
The Centre and CBFC were represented by standing counsel Nidhi Raman, while Imam was represented by advocates Warisha Farasat and Ahmad Ibrahim. The victims were represented by advocate Mehmood Pracha.
Justice Datta issued notice days after Congress parliamentarian and senior advocate AM Singhvi urged the Election Commission (EC) to take immediate action to stop the movie’s release before the polls. Addressing a press conference on January 26, Singhvi claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was promoting and propagating the movie, which was a distorted view of past events, aimed at dividing communities and polarising the atmosphere before the polls.
Delhi goes to polls on February 5.
In his plea, Imam, who was arrested by the Delhi police in January 2020, for being the alleged “mastermind” behind the riots, claimed that the “heavily biased” narrative, showcased in the trailer, has the potential to not only prejudice his bail application but also the trial, which is yet to commence. It went on to add that the film’s trailers and promotional videos purport to propel a false narrative of the larger conspiracy behind the Delhi 2020 riots.
Imam’s plea seeking bail in the Delhi riots larger conspiracy case is currently pending before the Delhi high court and is scheduled to be heard on February 21.
Imam’s plea also seeks a pre-screening of the movie.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said that the party does not comment “in haste on decisions of Delhi high court or autonomous bodies like CBFC”.

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