SC refuses to list urgently plea against ‘Udaipur Files’

 

 

THE Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to list urgently a plea challenging screening of the movie “Udaipur Files: Kanhaiya Lal tailor murder”, and said “Let the film be released”. A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi made the remark after a counsel appearing for one of the accused in the murder case said that release of the film will prejudice the trial in the matter. The counsel said that the film will be released on July 11 and producers of the movie have put out trailers of the movie and there is apprehension that it will affect the trial in the case and violate the accused’s right to fair trial. “Let the film be released.

 

You mention the plea before the regular bench upon reopening (of the court after summer vacation),” the bench observed as it refused to urgently list the matter. The petition was filed by Mohammed Javed, who is facing trial as the eighth accused in the case. He sought a stay on the film’s release till the trial in the case is over. The petitioner has contended that the film appeared to be “communally provocative” from its trailer and promotional materials, and releasing the movie at this juncture, portraying the accused as guilty and the story as conclusively true, has the potential to seriously prejudice the ongoing proceedings.

 

 

THE Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the producer of “Udaipur Files”, a movie based on tailor Kanhaiya Lal murder case, to arrange its screening for those seeking a ban on it. The court’s direction came after the makers claimed objectionable portions have been removed from the film. The bench was hearing petitions claiming that the movie has potential to inflame communal tensions and disrupt public order in the country. A division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Anish Dayal directed the producers to arrange the screening for the counsel representing the petitioners on Wednesday itself and posted the matter for Thursday. The bench passed the directions after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) told the court that the offending parts of the movie have been removed. The petitions, including one filed by Maulana Arshad Madani, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind president and principal of Darul Uloom Deoband, have claimed that a trailer of movie released on June 26 was replete with dialogues and instances that had led to communal disharmony in 2022, and carries every potential to again stoke the same communal sentiments.