Supreme Court Refers ‘Udaipur Files’ Row To Centre’s Panel, Hearing Deferred To Monday

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered that the issue over the release and certification of the film ‘Udaipur Files’ will be decided by a committee constituted by the Central government today in the afternoon.

The top court said that the issue over the release and certification of the film will be decided by the committee at 2:30 pm today.The Court directed the said Central committee to decide the issue immediately and deferred the matter to be heard again on Monday before itself.

“The Competent Authority (of the Central government) has taken cognisance of the revision petition over the release of the film pending before it and will be heard at 2:30 pm today, a bench led by Justice Surya Kant stated, deferring to hear the matter on merits on a later date – July 21, Monday.

“Having regard to the nature of the proceedings, we expect that the committee constituted by the CG will decide the revision petition immediately without delay. Post the matter for further consideration on Monday”, the Court stated in its order.

The Court also permitted the accused in the matter, Mohammad Jawed, to appear before the Central committee and directed the committee to accord him a fair hearing over his inhibitions on being able to receive a fair trial in the murder case.

“In this regard, we also permit Mohammad Javed, the accused in the Kanhaiya Lal Murder case, to enter an appearance before the Central government. We direct the committee to accord a hearing to the accused as well,” the Court stated in its order. The counsel appearing for the producers of the film also informed the Court that the producers of the film and the son of the deceased Kanhaiya Lal are receiving death threats from certain people.

Following this submission, the Court granted liberty to the said producer and the son to approach the Superintendent of Police (SP) in their respective jurisdiction seeking protection. The Court also directed the SP to assess the alleged threat perception and directed necessary steps to be taken to ensure no harm is done in case any merit is found on the issue.

Plea on Udaipur Files

The Court was hearing a plea filed against the release of the film “Udaipur Files” by one Mohammad Javed, one of the accused in the Kanhaiya Lal Murder case.

During the hearing today, the counsel appearing for the makers of ‘Udaipur Files’, Senior Advocate Gaurab Bhatia, vehemently argued that the matter be decided by the Supreme Court, as the stay on its release is causing major losses to the producers and is in violation of their fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression.

The Senior counsels, Kapil Sibal and Maneka Guruswamy, appearing for the petitioners (Maulana Arshad Madni of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and an accused in the case, one Jawed, respectively challenging the release and certification of the movie, argued that the release would cause irreversible prejudice to the accused and influence his right to a fair trial.

It was also argued by the petitioners that the said film has completely vilified the Muslim community and is a complete desecration of the case. “Once I saw the movie, I was shaken. If any judge were to see that, it is a complete thematic desecration of the case. It’s the vilification of an entire community. Violence, homosexuality, denigration of women, and child abuse have been attributed to the community. It is unthinkable that a democratic nation will allow this movie to be certified.

Senior counsel Gaurav Bhatia, on the other hand, countered by stating that there was a beheading of a person in the matter. Videos were released both before the said offence and afterwards, and were also uploaded on Facebook. He stated that none of these persons– the Senior counsels challenging the film — came then (in defence of the deceased victim), Bhatia asserted, questioning their presence at the Court today challenging the film’s release.

Bhatia stated further that radical elements have been removed from the movie, and how families (of the victim) have suffered is shown in the movie. Earlier, during the hearing,Bhatia had submitted that the filmmakers have incorporated all the 55 cuts that were directed by the CBFC. Only after those cuts, the film was certified for release, Bhatia added.

After hearing the arguments from both parties, the Court postponed the hearing to Monday and directed that in the meanwhile, the matter be decided by the Central government committee immediately.

(With ANI Inputs)

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