The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday (June 19th) said it would watch the film “Maharaj” and then decide the plea seeking a stay on the film’s release on the Over The Top (OTT) platform Netflix.
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Ahmedabad: On Wednesday, the Gujarat High Court announced it would watch the film “Maharaj” before ruling on the plea to stay its release on Netflix. The film, starring Junaid Khan, son of actor Aamir Khan, was set for release on June 18 but was halted by an interim order on June 12, which remains in effect.
Single-judge Justice Sangeeta Vishen expressed her intention to view the film to ascertain if any scenes could harm religious sentiments, as claimed by the petitioners, who are devotees of Lord Krishna and follow the Pustimarg sect.
“I will watch the film as all the parties have agreed to it and given up their arguments. I will watch the film and decide if any scene in the film is objectionable or can hurt any religious sentiments,”
–Justice Vishen stated.
This decision followed suggestions from Senior Advocates Shalin Mehta and Jal Unwalla, representing Yashraj Films and Netflix, respectively, who proposed that the Court view the film to verify the allegations in the petition. Mehta argued,
“They claim that the film speaks about the controversial trial and the excerpts of the judgment in it are used in the film. It is our case, that out of the 2 hours 30 minutes film only 20 minutes are dedicated to the trial and the judgment is not at all read in the entire film. There is only one scene of the judgment wherein the judge says trial went on for 7 days and some witnesses were examined and the case is dismissed. So the apprehension they have that the excerpts of the judgment are used which may cause disturbance in the society etc are incorrect.”
Senior Advocate Mihir Joshi, representing the petitioners, also agreed with the Court’s suggestion to watch the film first.
The bench accepted this suggestion and decided to view the film to make an informed decision.
The next hearing is scheduled for June 20.
The petitioners argued that the film, allegedly based on the 1862 Libel Case, could disrupt public order and incite violence against the Pustimarg sect and the Hindu religion. They highlighted that the 1862 case, decided by English judges of the Supreme Court of Bombay, contained blasphemous remarks about Hinduism, Lord Krishna, and devotional songs and hymns.
The petitioners further claimed that the film’s release was being conducted secretively, with no trailer or promotional events, to conceal its storyline. They contended that releasing the movie would cause irreparable harm to their religious sentiments.
Despite urgently appealing to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to block the film’s release, they received no response.
CASE TITLE:
Bharat Pranjivandas Mandalia vs Union of India.
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