Padmaavat producers move SC against ban by various states

NEW DELHI: Producers of ‘Padmaavat’ on Wednesday contested in the Supreme Court a ban on the film’s exhibition by some states.

Some states have banned the move despite it getting the censor board’s clearance, counsel for the producers, Mahesh Agrawal, told a bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra.

There can be no censorship by the government once the Central Board of Film Certification cleared a movie, the producers said in their petition. The CBFC is the authorised body under law that determines the permissible area of free speech, it said.


The CBFC cleared the movie after asking the producers to make a few changes, including in its title to ‘Padmaavat’ from ‘Padmavati’. But the state governments banned its screening in their territories f o l l o w i n g threats from some fringe elements.

The petition urged the court to order all states to extend proper security to the movie distributors screening it and also prevent any disruptions in its screening. This is the second round of litigation in the court over the movie. In the first, the court had refused to intervene even before the statutory authorities, CBFC, and its appellate body had taken a call on its certification.

At the same time, the top court had also warned all constitutional functionaries and political leaders not to jump into contentious debate as it had the effect of curtailing citizens’ rights.