Punjab and Haryana High Court questioned the need for a PIL seeking to rename the film 120 Bahadur and refused to halt its release. The Union government assured the Court that the pending representation would be decided within two days.
The Union government told the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday that it will decide within two days on a representation opposing the release of the film ‘120 Bahadur’. The movie stars actor Farhan Akhtar as Param Vir Chakra awardee Major Shaitan Singh Bhati and is based on the Battle of Rezang La.
After hearing this assurance, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sheel Nagu closed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that had sought a stay on the film’s release.
The PIL had mainly asked that the movie’s name be changed from ‘120 Bahadur’ to ‘120 Vir Ahir’, arguing that this would better honour the 120 soldiers who fought in the battle.
The petitioners also demanded that all 120 soldiers’ names—114 who died fighting and six who survived—should be included in the movie. During the hearing, however, the Court questioned the need for such sensitivity.
Chief Justice Nagu asked,
“Why are you so sensitive about what name should carry, whether a film should be named so and so. Bravery of soldiers will be seen in that 3 hour or 2-and-a-half hour movie.”
The Court decided not to go into the deeper issues raised by the petition and passed the following order:
“This petition has been filed as a PIL raising an alleged public cause that a film named ‘120 Bahadur’ ought to be renamed as ‘120 Vir Ahir’. It is also informed that the said film is to be released on 21st of this month and despite the petitioner having preferred a review under Section 6 of Cinematograph Act, 1952, on 10th of November, received by Central government on 13th, [the same is still] is under consideration. The counsel for the Central government has assured that the Central government would decide the said revision within two days. In view of the aforesaid assurance, the present petition stands disposed with the liberty to revisit the Court, in case of further grievance.”
The PIL was filed by the Sanyukt Ahir Regiment Morcha along with family members of soldiers who died in the 1962 Battle of Rezang La.
The petitioners argued that the film distorts historical facts by portraying Major Shaitan Singh as the only hero, which they said wipes out the collective identity, regimental history, and bravery of the Ahir soldiers who fought with him.
According to them,
“That by suppressing the collective nature of the battle and substituting the regiment’s historical composition, the Respondents have violated the constitutional guarantees of Articles 14, 15, 19(2), and 21, and undermined the principles of constitutional morality, which require fidelity to truth and equality in remembrance.”
They further highlighted that Charlie Company had 120 soldiers, and 117 of them were Ahirs from Rewari, Narnaul, Mahendragarh and nearby regions. They fought at an altitude of around 18,000 feet in extreme cold, facing a Chinese force of over 3,000 troops.
The plea stated,
“No single name or face may justly monopolise the laurels that rightfully belong to the entire brotherhood of the fallen.”
During the hearing, the petitioners’ counsel said that although a representation against the certification of the film was submitted, no action had been taken yet.
On the other hand, Advocate Abhinav Sood, representing the film’s producers Excel Entertainment, informed the Court that both the censor board and the Union Ministry of Defence had already cleared the movie.
He argued that the petitioners had other legal remedies available and that the PIL was premature since it was based only on the film’s trailer.
He stated,
“The thanks page is there, everything is there. This is premature. Based on a three minute trailer, they cannot file a PIL.”
With the government assuring a decision within two days, the High Court closed the PIL but allowed the petitioners to return to court if they still had grievances after the government’s decision.
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