E-Paper
HC stays release of ‘Udaipur Files’, asks Centre to take a call
Delhi HC stays release of "Udaipur Files" film on Kanhaiya Lal's murder, directing petitioner to seek CBFC certificate cancellation from the Centre.
The Delhi high court on Thursday stayed the release of the film Udaipur Files based on the 2022 murder of tailor Kanhaiya Lal. The film, produced by Amit Jani, was scheduled for release on Friday.
A bench of chief justice DK Upadhyay and justice Anish Dayal asked the petitioner, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind president Maulana Arshad Madani, to approach the Centre within two days to seek cancellation of the film’s CBFC (Centre and Central Board of Film Certification) certificate, clarifying that the stay will be in effect until the government’s decision on the interim plea.
The judges further directed the Centre to also take a call on the cancellation application within 7 days.
To be sure, section 6 of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 empowers the Centre to declare a film uncertified and pass certain interim measures such as suspension of the certificate upon an application by the aggrieved person.
“Having regards to the facts and circumstances of the case and taking into consideration the scheme of the act and the processes to be gone into by the Board, while considering prayer for grant of certificate, we are of the opinion that the petitioner ought to approach the Centre by invoking section 6. We may also note that the Centre has been empowered to not only pass final orders but also provide interim orders. Accordingly, we permit the petitioner to approach the Centre by invoking section 6 within 2 days from today,” the court said in its order.
It added, “In case, the petitioner approaches the Centre he may also make a prayer for grant of interim measures as contemplated in section 6(c) of the act. Once the petitioner approaches the Centre by filing the revision petition, the same shall be considered and decided by the Centre within a period of a week, after giving an opportunity to the producer.”
The court passed the order while dealing with pleas filed by three individuals, including Madani, seeking to stall the movie’s release and quash its CBFC certificate.
On Wednesday, the court had asked the producer to arrange a special screening of the movie for the petitioners, after the CBFC had said that certain offending portions of the movie had been removed.
However, Madani represented by senior advocate Kapil Sibal after watching the film on Wednesday argued that the movie’s intent was to vilify members of a particular community in almost every scene and thus the film is a form of hate speech, posing a threat to public order and communal harmony. Sibal said the movie intended to show the community in a negative light.
Opposing the submissions, CBFC asserted that the movie focused on “crime” rather than targeting any particular community. It said the movie’s core message is not aimed at any specific group but seeks to highlight how certain foreign elements across the border are attempting to destabilise India’s communal harmony.
Producer Amit Jani, represented by advocate Shreyas Lalit, argued that the movie is a “fictionalised narrative”, which instead of vilifying the community, aimed at highlighting the attempts of external influences to sow seeds of hatred in India. He submitted that the uncensored trailer was taken down on July 2, pursuant to the receipt of the show-cause notice and a new one was released on July 2 with certain cuts. He added that a huge investment has been made for the release by booking 1,800 theatres, selling 100,000 tickets.
Lal was murdered in June 2022 with a cleaver in Udaipur for allegedly sharing a social media post endorsing 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 prepared a video claiming responsibility for the murder and even displayed the weapon used in the crime.
Considering the sensitivity of the case, the matter was probed by the National Investigation Agency and the accused were charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The trial in the case is pending before a special NIA court in Jaipur.
