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Film ‘Udaipur Files’ yet to be recertified by CBFC, producer tells Delhi HC
The bench said that there was no urgency, since the movie could only be released pursuant to certification, which was yet to be granted.
The Delhi high court on Monday refused to stall the release of the movie ‘Udaipur Files’, based on the 2022 brutal murder of a Rajasthan-based tailor Kanhaiya Lal, till July 30, noting that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is yet to recertify the film despite the Centre’s suggested cuts being implemented.
The Centre had on July 21 cleared the movie’s release, subject to the filmmaker carrying out six additional edits, in addition to the 55 cuts already implemented.
A bench of chief justice DK Upadhyay and justice Tushar Rao Gedela rejected the request to stay the film’s release after petitioner, Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind chief Maulana Arshad Madani, sought a hearing on Wednesday, while co-petitioner Mohammed Javed, an accused in the Kanhaiya Lal murder case, requested a stay until then.
The movie has been challenged for allegedly vilifying the Muslim community while Javed claims that his trial is at a crucial stage and the movie’s release could prejudice his right to fair trial.
The bench said that there was no urgency, since the movie could only be released pursuant to certification, which was yet to be granted.
“Please don’t get overwhelmed. Argue the matter with ease. The movie will only be released after recertification. You (producer’s counsel) say that it (recertification) is pending. As of today, there is no urgency. We can hear the matter the day after (on Wednesday). The film can only be exhibited after re-certification and thus there is no urgency,” the bench said to Javed’s counsel Maneka Guruswamy.
The petitions were listed before the high court, after the Supreme Court, while refusing to take a call on allowing the movie’s release, had requested the Delhi high court to take up the matter on Monday.
In its petition, argued by advocate Saumya Dwivedi, Javed asserted that the July 21 order was egregious since the Centre had simply accepted the recommendation of a committee comprising three advisory panel members from the CBFC, without any application of mind. It further stated that the procedure to constitute the Committee was based on a repealed law and was thus flawed. The Cinematograph Act, 1952, the petition stated, does not empower the CBFC to review its own decision.
To be sure, the July 21 order was issued in response to the pleas filed by Madani and Javed, seeking cancellation of the film’s certification, following the liberty granted by the high court on July 10. The high court on that day, had temporarily stayed the movie’s release and allowed Madani to approach the Centre, regarding his concerns.
“The constitution of the committee by the Central Government, in the absence of any applicable provision, amounts to wrongful delegation of powers. The committee was the sole authority who heard and considered the submission of the parties, including the CEO of CBFC,” the petition stated. It added, “Thereafter, the recommendation of this committee was accepted by the Central government without any application of mind and this amounts to CBFC adjudicating the validity of its own decision to certify the film for public exhibition.”
Lal was murdered in June 2022 with a cleaver in Udaipur district of Rajasthan for allegedly sharing a social media post endorsing the disparaging remarks made against Prophet Muhammad by former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma. She made the comments while participating in a television debate in May 2022. The assailants, who were arrested by the Rajasthan police, even prepared a video claiming responsibility for the murder. They even displayed the weapon of offence used for the crime.
Considering the sensitivity of the case, the matter was probed by the National Investigation Agency and the accused was charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The trial in the case is pending before a special NIA court in Jaipur.
