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‘Offending’ parts of ‘Udaipur Files’ taken down: CBFC to HC
Madani’s plea painted a picture that the movie is “highly provocative”, capable of inciting communal tensions and disturbing public order
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on Wednesday told the Delhi high court that certain offending portions of the movie “Udaipur Files”, relating to the 2022 brutal murder of a tailor Kanhaiya Lal, had been taken down.
The CBFC represented by additional solicitor general (ASG) Chetan Sharma submitted before a bench of chief justice DK Upadhyay and justice Anish Dayal that the board before granting certification to the movie, slated to be released on Friday, had proposed certain cuts, which have been affected.
“We’ve addressed all the issues as has been raised in the petition. These are the offending portions, references and dialogues, they have all been taken down by the central board. Anything which could have been offensive has been taken down,” Sharma submitted.
The movie’s producer submitted that the cuts, as suggested by CBFC, had also been implemented.
Taking note of the submission, the court suggested the petitioner, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind president Maulana Arshad Madani, to see the edited movie and directed the producer to arrange a special screening on Wednesday.
This was after Madani’s lawyer Kapil Sibal urged the court to view the edited version of the movie, saying that even if the board had taken down the alleged offending portions, there was still a problem, since its theme was to fuel violence and intended to target a “particular community”.
“Before we make a decision (to go for screening or not), we’re requesting you to go through those cuts and come before us tomorrow. The film needs to be viewed by you,” the court said to Madani’s counsel Kapil Sibal.
Accordingly, the court, while listing the plea seeking to stall its release and quash the CBFC certificate for Thursday, in its order said, “In these circumstances we require the producer to arrange the screening of the film at the convenient time”.
Even as the high court issued the direction, the Supreme Court in the morning refused to urgently hear a plea filed by one of the accused Mohammad Javed, also seeking a stay. “You make a request before the concerned court on the opening day (July 14),” a bench of justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi, sitting during the partial court working days, said.
Madani’s plea painted a picture that the movie is “highly provocative”, capable of inciting communal tensions and disturbing public order. It went on to add that even its trailer had the potential to incite communal discord and presented a deeply divisive and inflammatory narrative, since it included references to the sensitive and sub judice matter of Gyanvapi Masjid, currently pending before the Varanasi district court and the Supreme Court and amplified the controversial statement made by former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
Lal was murdered in June 2022 with a cleaver in Udaipur district, 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.
