Supreme Court says it didn’t pass any written order on plea against Udaipur Files, only refused urgent listing. Clarification comes after confusion over court’s oral remark: “Let the film be released.”
New Delhi: Today, on July 10, the Supreme Court clarified that it had not passed any written order while refusing to urgently hear a petition against the release of the movie “Udaipur Files: Kanhaiya Lal tailor murder.”
This clarification came from a bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi, after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for accused Mohammed Javed, raised concerns that there was confusion due to an earlier oral remark of the court.
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Sibal said the bench had remarked,
“Let the film be released,”
which was interpreted by many as a formal direction.
However, the court clarified that it only made an oral observation and did not issue a written order, as it had simply denied the urgent listing of the case.
Sibal informed the bench that the Delhi High Court had asked him to seek clarification regarding the July 9 oral remarks, as the film is scheduled for release on July 11, and this could affect the fair trial rights of the accused.
Sibal argued,
“The petition has not been heard and the oral observation of the court has created a confusion.”
Justice Joymalya Bagchi expressed his personal opinion that the film should not be shown, but Justice Dhulia reiterated that the court had merely stated it was not granting an urgent hearing.
He emphasized there should not be any misunderstanding about the court’s stance.
On July 9, when the plea was initially mentioned, the top court refused to urgently list the petition and orally said,
“Let the film be released.”
At that time, the counsel representing one of the accused in the 2022 Udaipur murder case told the court that the release of the film could negatively influence the ongoing trial.
The trailer and other promotional content, according to the counsel, gave an impression that the film portrayed the accused as already guilty, which would be prejudicial.
The Supreme Court then orally remarked,
“Let the film be released. You mention the plea before the regular bench upon reopening (of the court after summer vacation).”
The petition was filed by Mohammed Javed, the eighth accused in the case, who sought to stay the release of the movie until the trial concludes.
He argued that the film, judging from its trailer and promotional clips, appears to be “communally provocative” and projects the accused as guilty and the story as conclusively true.
This, he contended, could seriously prejudice the ongoing legal proceedings.
The case relates to the murder of Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor from Udaipur, Rajasthan, who was killed in June 2022, allegedly by Mohammad Riyaz and Mohammad Ghous. The murder was reportedly committed as a hate crime.
The attackers had uploaded a video after the murder, claiming that they acted in retaliation because Kanhaiya Lal had allegedly shared a social media post supporting former BJP leader Nupur Sharma, who had made controversial remarks about Prophet Muhammad.
The matter is being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the accused have been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The trial is currently pending in a special NIA court in Jaipur.
Click Here to Read Our Reports on Tailor Kanhaiya Lal
