HC dismisses PIL seeking warning against violence shown in movies

Petitioner cannot make the court assume the role of CBFC, say judges

The Madras High Court on Friday dismissed a public interest litigation petition which sought a direction to film-makers to carry a warning, akin to one carried against smoking and consuming liquor, before playing every movie, requesting youngsters not to be carried away by the violence shown in the movies and declaring that only dummy arms and fake blood are used by actors.

Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and N. Seshasayee refused to entertain the case on the ground that the petitioner S. Dinesh Jacob Durairaj, 43, an advocate by profession, could not make the court assume the role of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), popularly known as the Censor Board, under the garb of a PIL petition.

The judges agreed with Additional Government Pleader E. Manohar that there were well-laid-down guidelines for issuance of certificates to movies and that a panel consisting of many CBFC members watched every scene before certifying whether adults alone could watch a movie or whether children should be accompanied by adults to watch a particular movie.

Therefore, the apprehensions of the petitioner were already being addressed by a statutory body, he said. Though the petitioner specifically referred to violent scenes in Vijay starrer

Bigil and claimed that they have a bad influence on the youth, the judges said, that movie too had been subjected to censor and then issued with a U/A (under adult guidance) certificate.