The Delhi HC quickly halted the release of the film ‘Udaipur Files’ till the Centre makes a decision on the revision plea of the petitioners. The film, slated to released in world on Friday, revolves around the murder of Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor in Rajasthan’s Udaipur, in June 2022.
A Bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Anish Dayal was addressing a batch of pleas, which includes a plea filed through Maulana Arshad Madani, the President of the Islamic cleric’s body Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, looking for a path to quash the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) certification granted to the film.
Delhi HC suspends ‘Udaipur Files’ release amid justice delays concerns
As per the petition filed by Maulana Arshad Madani, the CBFC certification granted in violation of Section 5B of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 and the Guidelines for Certification of Films for Public Exhibition, since the release of the film ‘Udaipur Files’ has the potential to inflame communal tensions and disrupt public order, critically undermining the content of non secular harmony in country.
In its order, the Chief Justice Upadhyaya-led Bench allowed the petitioners, with general public, to file a two-day revision plea before the Union government under Section 6 of the Cinematograph Act. Section 6 vests the Centre with ok power to declare a movie to be uncertified or passed orders providing for interim measures, consisting of suspension of the film from public exhibition.
High court ask centre to determine revision pleas
The Delhi HC asked the Centre to determine the revision pleas every week. Further, it ordered that the prayer for intervening time alleviation, if made, also taken into consideration and decided.
In a hearing on Wednesday, the Delhi High Court recorded Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma’s statement that before the film was certified, the CBFC proposed few cuts, and the producer of the film had applied them.
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