Punjab-based NGO moves SC to halt screening of ‘Udta Punjab’

The Bombay High Court had directed the producer of ‘Udta Punjab’ to make one cut and insert three disclaimers.

Human Rights Awareness Association, a Punjab-based NGO, on Wednesday sought to put on hold the screening of controversial film ‘Udta Punjab,’ saying it projected the agrarian State in a bad light.

The NGO told a Supreme Court vacation bench of Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and L. Nageshwara Rao that the Bombay High Court, which on Monday cleared the screening of the film with one cut, could not have interfered with the decision of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

The High Court, had directed the film producer to make one cut and insert three disclaimers, saying, among other things, the film did not promote drugs.

Earlier, the CBFC had suggested more than a dozen cuts in the film — down from the previous 89 — coupled with other directions before its release.