Supreme Court adjourns hearing on controversial film based on Kanhaiya Lal murder case. Govt panel recommends removing religious dialogues & scenes. Producers must implement changes while HC stay continues. Next hearing on July 25 as court examines fair trial concerns.
Poster of Udaipur Files (Imager Source: Internet)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned the hearing on the petition filed against the stay imposed by the Delhi High Court on the film 'Udaipur Files' till July 25. The film is based on the murder of tailor Kanhaiya Lal Teli in Udaipur, Rajasthan.
The bench of Surya Kant and Joymala Bagchi took this decision when a committee constituted by the Central Government presented its report on the film in the Supreme Court. The committee has made several comments on the religious dialogues in the film, considering them objectionable.
The court continued the stay and sought objections from the parties.
For now, the Supreme Court has directed to continue the stay order imposed by the Delhi High Court on the film and has asked all the parties to file objections to the report by Thursday.
Committee recommendations: Dialogues, names, and scenes will be removed.
According to the Bar and Bench report, the committee has suggested several important changes in the film, which have been accepted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The suggestions include changing the existing disclaimer, adding a voice-over to it, and removing some names from the film's credits.
In one scene of the film, a scene where the AI-created Saudi Arabian-style turban is worn has been asked to be removed. Apart from this, wherever the name "Nutan Sharma" is shown, it has been recommended to change it. Also, Nutan Sharma's dialogue—"Maine "to wahi kaha hai jo unke dharm Grantho me likhta hai..." also been directed to be removed.
Apart from this, some more dialogues have been recommended to be removed, such as
Hafiz's dialogue: "... Balochi kabhi loyal nahi hota..."
Maqbool's dialogue: "... Balochi ki..." and "... Arey, what Balochi, what Afghani, what Hindustani, what Pakistani..."
The ministry has directed that the producers should implement all these changes immediately.
Hearing on two petitions
Two petitions are pending in the Supreme Court on this film. One petition has been filed by the makers of the film, challenging the stay imposed by the Delhi High Court on July 10. The other petition has been filed by an accused in the Kanhaiyalal murder case, saying that the release of the film will affect his right to a fair trial.
Delhi High Court proceedings
The Delhi High Court had, on July 10, stayed the release of the film and directed the center to review the film under Section 6 of the Cinematograph Act. The petition filed by Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind chief Maulana Arshad Madani had accused the film of defaming the Muslim community. The film was scheduled to release on July 11.
The CBFC told the court that objectionable portions have been removed from the film. The court then directed senior advocate Kapil Sibal and ASG Chetan Sharma to hold a special screening of the film and the trailer. The next day, Sibal told the court that the film was "not good for the country; it is not art but subversion." After this, the High Court asked the central government to form a committee and review the matter.
This committee watched the film on 17 July and also heard all the parties on 16 July.
