''Padmavati'' row: SC rejects plea seeking deletion of ''objectionable'' scenes

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 20

Amid a raging controversy over Deepika Padukone-starrer ‘Padmavati’, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a PIL demanding deletion of certain “objectionable” scenes from the film, saying the prayer was “premature” as the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) was yet to examine it.

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“Our interference will be tantamount to pre-judging, which we are not inclined to do,” a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said.

“Can the Supreme Court intervene to stop a movie? The CBFC has a statutory duty. Can this court injunct a statutory Board from doing its duty?” it wondered.

The film’s producers have already deferred its release which was originally scheduled on December 1 after the CBFC return it to them, saying the file was “incomplete”.

The Bench – which had on November 16 said freedom of “speech and expression is sacrosanct” and it should not be ordinarily interfered with – made it clear that the top court can’t take over the job of the CBFC.

The CJI even explained the procedure as to how the Board examines a film before issuing a certificate and said if anybody had problems with the CBFC’s decision; the person could go to the appellate tribunal.

Petitioner advocate ML Sharma accused the filmmakers of releasing the songs of the film without having been given a certificate by CBFC. Alleging that the film’s producer and director indulged in ‘character assassination’ of Queen Padmavati by portraying her as a dancer, Sharma demanded that certain “objectionable” scenes be removed from the film.

But senior counsel Harish Salve, representing the film’s director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, clarified that only promo of the film had been released after due permission from the CBFC. The Bench ordered striking off certain paragraphs of the petition after Salve pointed out that they contained objectionable content.

Sharma sought to justify his petition, saying it was based on research and books written by various scholars.