Bombay High Court Dismisses Plea Against Movie 'The Kashmir Files'

The Bombay High Court has dismissed a PIL seeking to stall the release of movie "The Kashmir Files" on the alleged grounds of hurting religious sentiments of the Muslim community and inflaming members of the Hindu Community with possibility of triggering communal violence. The film directed by Vivek Agnihotri, featuring well-known actors like Anupam Kher and Mithun Chakraborty, is set...

The film directed by Vivek Agnihotri, featuring well-known actors like Anupam Kher and Mithun Chakraborty, is set to release this Friday, March 11.

The Bench led by Chief Justice Dipankar Datta noted that the Petitioner has not challenged the censor certificate issued by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The rule of exhaustion of an efficacious alternative remedy applies also in a public interest litigation as it does in respect of a litigation initiated in private interest.

Detailed order to follow.

Breaking : #BombayHighCourt dismisses PIL seeking to stall the release of movie "The Kashmir Files" based on the killing of Kasmiri pandits.

The PIL had alleged that it was a propaganda film meant to hurt religious feelings of the Muslim community. pic.twitter.com/iskG4naOPz
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) March 8, 2022

The movie is based around the killing of Kashmiri Pandits.

The PIL was filed by one Intezar Hussain Sayed from Uttar Pradesh, stating that as seen in the trailer of the movie, there are scenes which hurt the religious feelings of the people of India, more particularly the Muslim community and "has very potent mixture of inflammatory scenes which are bound to cause communal violence in the prevailing circumstances in the country."

The petition also argues that the dialogues, as seen in the trailer, are racial and religious remarks and are discriminatory, defamatory and against the principles of the Constitution of India.

"It is clearly evident that the whole movie will also be portraying in a targeted one-side view of the incident which is not only hurting the religious sentiments of Muslim community but also ignite emotions and inflame the members in Hindu Community with clear possibility of triggering violence immeasurable destruction in all the active parts of India."

The petition also cited elections in various states as a scope of misuse of any incident by any parties by escalating the disputes and differences to full scale communal violence.

It cited Article 19(2) of the Constitution to say that the guarantee of Freedom of Right to Speech and Expression comes with reasonable restrictions. "A person cannot exercise his/her basic fundamental right while violating fundamental right of another. The movie is clearly a propaganda piece and is not an artistic expression of any event but a one-sided inflammatory incendiary work," the petition read.

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Bom) 73

Bombay High Court Dismisses Plea Against Movie 'The Kashmir Files'

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