However, the court said it would have directed the CBFC to issue the certificate on Wednesday itself had there been no order from the Madhya Pradesh High Court | Photo: X@KanganaTeam
Kangana Ranaut’s ‘Emergency’ did not receive any relief on Wednesday from the Bombay High Court, which refused to issue any order in the wake of a Madhya Pradesh High Court directive directing CBFC to consider objections to the film before certifying it.
The film was scheduled to release on September 6 but will now be delayed by two weeks as the High Court has directed the censor board to consider the objections raised against the film and then certify it by September 18.
The film’s producer Zee Entertainment Enterprises had moved the Bombay High Court to direct the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to issue a certificate to the biographical drama ‘Emergency’, directed by actor and MP Kangana Ranaut.
The petition claimed that the censor board had the certificate ready but did not issue it for fear of public disturbances after the film’s release.
A division bench comprising Justices BP Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla on Wednesday accepted the farmer’s contention that the certificate was kept ready but not issued.
The court said that once the certificate was issued online to the makers of the film, the CBFC’s claim that the certificate was not issued because it was not signed by the chairman is incorrect.
However, the court noted that it would have directed the CBFC to issue the certificate on Wednesday itself had there been no order from the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
We know there is more to it than that. We do not want to comment on it. The CBFC will consider the objections and take a decision by September 18, he said.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday heard petitions filed by Sikh groups claiming that the film contains scenes that may hurt their religious sentiments and thus cause unrest.
The CBFC said there that the film had not yet received any certification.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court then directed the censor board to consider the representation of the petitioning Sikh groups raising objections to the film before issuing the certificate to the film.
The CBFC was directed to carry out this exercise and decide expeditiously.
While hearing the petition filed by Zee Entertainment, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday said that while it was with the petitioner on the issue, it cannot grant any relief in the wake of the order passed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has issued directions to the CBFC. If we grant any relief today, we would be in direct contravention of that order. We will ask the CBFC to disobey another order of the High Court if we pass any order today. We cannot do so. Judicial propriety demands it of us, the court said.
Slated to release on September 6, the biographical drama was mired in controversy after Sikh organisations including the Shiromani Akali Dal objected, accusing it of misrepresenting the community and misinterpreting historical facts.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First published: September 4, 2024 | 14:35 IS
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