&w=3840&q=100)
SC agrees to hear plea against HC order staying release of Udaipur Files
After the counsel appearing for the producers sought urgent listing of the plea saying that the film's release was stayed despite the censor board certification, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said it would hear it on Wednesday or any day thereafter.
The counsel contended that the apex court had refused urgent listing of the plea seeking a stay on the film's release but the high court interfered and stayed it on July 10.
"We have spent money on the movie and obtained CBFC certification, but despite that the high court stayed its release. This is a violation of our rights," the counsel contended and sought urgent listing of the plea on Tuesday.
The bench said it would hear the plea on Wednesday or any day thereafter.
On July 10, the Delhi High Court stayed the release of 'Udaipur Files' till the Centre decides on pleas seeking a permanent ban on the film over its potential to "promote disharmony" in society.
The high court had directed the petitioners to approach the Centre within two days with their grievance, while noting that they have not taken the recourse to approach the Central government.
The petitions, including one filed by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind president and Darul Uloom Deoband principal Maulana Arshad Madani before the high court, had claimed that a trailer of the movie released on June 26 was replete with dialogues and instances that had led to communal disharmony in 2022, and carries every potential to stoke the same sentiments again.
The film's producer contended before the high court that "this is a typical India-Pakistan plot. The petitioner has taken dialogues out of context." The high court on July 9 directed the producers to arrange a screening of the film for the petitioners.
Udaipur-based tailor Kanhaiya Lal was murdered on June 2022 allegedly by Mohammad Riyaz and Mohammad Ghous. The assailants had later released a video claiming that the murder was in reaction to the tailor allegedly sharing a social media post in support of former BJP leader Nupur Sharma following her controversial comments on Prophet Mohammed.
The case was probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the accused were booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, besides provisions under the Indian Penal Code.
The trial is pending before the special NIA court in Jaipur.
On July 9, the top court had refused to urgently list a plea challenging the release of 'Udaipur Files', and orally observed, "Let the film be released".
The petition before the top court was filed by Mohammed Javed, who is facing trial as the eighth accused in the case. He sought a stay on the film's release till the trial in the case is over.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
43 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
‘If you don't pull up cops for falsifying evidence, what stops them from doing so again?'
Advocate Yug Chaudhry who led the defence of the 7/11 blasts accused acquitted last week, speaks to Jyoti Punwani about the significance of the Bombay High Court's judgment and how the victims can seek justice. 'If you don't pull up cops for falsifying evidence, what stops them from doing so again?' The fact that they were held innocent has not been stayed. Nor has their release. That's because the judgment is very sound. The stay has been granted only because of the effect this judgment would have on other MCOCA trials currently on. Because the court agreed with our argument that for MCOCA to be applied, an accused must have been charge sheeted in two cases where the punishment is a minimum of three years, not a maximum of three years. That finding could derail other MCOCA trials. Not just the accused, for me personally as well. This judgment is that light I will look to when I am sunk in despair. It has restored not just my faith in the judiciary but in humanity and courage, in kindness and above all in human decency. Appellate judges seldom reverse convictions in terror cases. You have to scale a very high mountain to get a terror conviction reversed. It is only because the judges were legally and morally convinced of the innocence of the accused that they did so. What convinced them was the utter blatant fabrication of evidence against the accused and the very obvious fact that the investigation and prosecution of the case lacked integrity, credibility and honesty. The evidence produced was an insult to the intelligence. That's what I can't understand. No ideologically driven party can have a vested interest in the miscarriage of justice. I would request these parties: please see the evidence for yourself. Ask yourself, how can copy paste confessions by different accused given to different DCPs be genuine? Why were the CDRs destroyed? These CDRs were relied upon to get police remand of the accused; the police claimed the CDRs showed they were in touch with each other and with the LeT. Yet, not only were they not used by the prosecution, when we got an order that they should be handed to us, the prosecution said they've been destroyed! The senior officer investigating the case kept saying he won't answer to all questions we asked (when pressed about the CDRs), the IO kept saying, 'I can't remember, I don't know.' Is this how an honest investigation is run? They must urge the government to set up an SIT with high-ranking members: judges, bureaucrats and members of civil society to look into the entire case again, especially the evidence submitted by Rakesh Maria, which pointed towards the IM having done it. 189 persons have died; this needs an honest investigation. The NIA today has the monopoly of investigating terror. On its website, the train blasts have been attributed to the IM. Not only the NIA, the police in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi have all said that the train blasts were executed by the IM. By insisting on the rule of law, and by ensuring accountability of the police for their misdeeds. If you don't pull up the police for falsifying evidence, what stops them from doing so again? If there is a judicial finding about evidence having been fabricated, those doing so must be pulled up.
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Punjab Police busts ‘major' drug trafficking cartel with links to Pakistan-based smugglers, 6 kg heroin seized
In a major crackdown against cross-border narco-smuggling, the Punjab Police said on Saturday it busted "a well-organised heroin trafficking cartel with direct links to Pakistan-based smugglers." Police said they recovered 6.106 Kg heroin and two motorcycles during the operation. They said key accused Sarbjit alias Joban, who was operating from a border-area village, "is in direct contact with notorious smuggler Rana across the border." Sarbjit was arrested along with a juvenile, with 1 Kg heroin recovered from them, they added. "His interrogation leads to the arrest of two more smugglers — Dharam Singh and Kulbir Singh — from Ajnala, with over 5 Kg heroin seized," police said. They also informed that FIRs were registered at PS Airport and PS Chheharta under relevant sections of the NDPS Act. Earlier on July 24, the Punjab Police conducted raids at 400 locations, leading to the arrest of 85 drug smugglers after registration of 60 FIRs across the state, Information and Public Relations Department, Punjab said in an official statement. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached 23,237 in 145 days, it stated. The raids have resulted in the recovery of 1.6 kg of heroin, 1 kg of opium, 8353 intoxicant tablets, pills and injections and ₹ 8.09 lakh in drug money from the possession of arrested drug smugglers. Notably, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has asked the Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendent of Police to make Punjab a drug-free state. The Punjab government has also constituted a 5-member Cabinet Sub-Committee, led by the state's Finance Minister, Harpal Singh Cheema, to monitor the war against drugs.
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Delhi Police arrest 2 interstate ATM robbers after tracking them for 6 months
The Delhi Police Special Cell Thursday night arrested two interstate ATM robbers from Haryana's Mewat after a brief exchange of fire near the Jaitpur-Kalindi Kunj Pusta road. According to the police, Sazid and Adil were wanted in multiple cases of ATM break-ins and arms trafficking across several states, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, and West Bengal. Acting on a tip-off, the Special Cell team laid a trap following six months of surveillance and groundwork. At around 10 pm, the suspects were spotted riding a motorcycle to Madanpur Khadar. When flagged down by the police, the suspects allegedly attempted to flee and opened fire on the police. The police team returned fire, allegedly in self-defence, leading to the motorcycle skidding and both accused falling. Despite warnings to surrender, the suspects again opened fire and were overpowered after a second round of exchange, said the police. The police recovered two semi-automatic bore pistols with ammunition, along with the stolen motorcycle and Rs 48,500 in cash, which was identified as the amount recently looted from an ATM break-in in Siliguri in West Bengal on the night of July 22-23, said the police. The police revealed that they had been tracking the duo ever since the Special Cell had arrested another Mewat-based criminal named Jamshed. According to the police, Jamshed was responsible for killing a Head Constable in 2012. During his interrogation, Jamshed had allegedly disclosed that he had bought the gun that killed H C Yashpal from Sazid and revealed that Sazid and his associates were involved and wanted in multiple ATM robberies of different states. 'It was learnt that Sazid, along with his Mewat-based associates, used to go to different states by truck. They carry the tools including a cylinder for cutting the ATM in the truck. Upon reaching their target destination, they would steal a vehicle to commit an ATM robbery and conduct a reconnaissance of the area to identify an unguarded ATM kiosk. After robbery, they would abandon the vehicle and then disperse and return to their base by different modes or routes,' said Amit Kaushik, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Special Cell. Sazid, 23, a resident of Nangla Utawad in Mathura, had previously been arrested by the police in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Punjab for ATM-related crimes. After his name surfaced during an ATM robbery probe in Mathura, he shifted base to Nuh to evade arrest, said the police. He is currently wanted in ATM robbery cases in at least five states. His accomplice, Adil, 27, hailing from Azizabad in Palwal, Haryana, was also allegedly involved in ATM loot cases. He is wanted in connection with an ATM robbery in Gujarat in 2024, said the police.
