Supreme Court declines to extend stay on release of ‘Udaipur Files'
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi told the petitioners to approach the Delhi High Court to challenge the Union government's order, which allowed the film to be released with six cuts, according to Live Law.
The film was scheduled to be released on July 11. The Delhi High Court had stayed the release on June 10 and directed the Union government to examine the film's content.
The Centre recommended that the film should be released with a disclaimer, The Indian Express reported.
'You first go to the High Court, the other side is satisfied with the central government order,' PTI quoted the bench as saying on Friday. 'So, please go to the High Court, why waste our time.'
The Supreme Court also clarified that it was not commenting on the merits of the case and said that it was the High Court's domain. It requested the High Court to take up the matter on Monday.
In June 2022, Lal, a tailor, was killed in Rajasthan's Udaipur for purportedly sharing a social media post in support of suspended Bharatiya Janata Party Spokesperson Nupur Sharma. She had made disparaging remarks about Prophet Muhammad during a television debate in May 2022.
The assailants and several other persons accused in the matter were arrested by the Rajasthan Police. A video showed two men claiming responsibility for the killing of Lal as they brandished the cleavers used in the murder.
The murder case was investigated by the National Investigation Agency and the persons accused in the matter were charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. The trial is underway in a Special NIA Court in Jaipur.
The High Court had stayed the release of Udaipur Files while hearing a batch of petitions, including one filed by Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind chief Maulana Arshad Madani, seeking a ban on the film. The petitioners had alleged that the film is communally provocative and vilifies the Muslim community.
A day before the order, the Supreme Court had heard a writ petition filed by Mohammed Javed, one of the eight persons accused in the murder case.
Javed argued that the release of the film would violate his right to a fair trial. He had sought that the release of the film be postponed until the trial in the matter concluded. The petitioner also argued that the film, based on its trailer, appeared to be communally provocative.
In response, the Supreme Court said that the petition could be mentioned before the appropriate bench when the Supreme Court reopened on July 14 after the summer break. It added that the movie could be released in the meantime.
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