The Delhi High Court on Thursday rejected a plea seeking deletion of certain scenes from the movie Padmaavat that allegedly glorified the practice of Sati.
“The film stands released without any complaints and it is already in public domain,” a Bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar said adding that the petitioner should have approached the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) at an appropriate time.
“If the petitioner was having any complaint with regard to the issue raised in his writ petition, he should have made complaint before the CBFC at an appropriate time. We find no merit in the petition. The same is dismissed,” the Bench said.
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‘Glorified Sati’
The petition filed by social activist Swami Agnivesh had also sought action against the producers and director of the movie for alleged glorification of the practice of Sati.
The movie ran into controversy before its release when its sets in Jaipur and Kolhapur were vandalised. In January last year, some members of a Rajput community group, Karni Sena, assaulted director Sanjay Leela Bhansali in Jaipur for allegedly presenting “distorted facts” in the movie.
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In the run up to the release of the movie, several incidents of vandalism including an attack on a school bus in Gurugram and torching of a Haryana Roadways bus took place.
SC comes to rescue
Finally, the Supreme Court came to its rescue in January by staying the ban on the screening of the movie in theatres in Gujarat and Rajasthan. The top court also restrained other states from issuing any such notification or order banning the screening of the film.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the censor board had opposed the plea saying the movie was certified for public viewing after considering all the aspects.
The High Court on January 25 had rejected another plea by a Rajasthan-based group seeking quashing of the certification granted to the film, saying the Supreme Court had permitted its release.