The Bombay High Court on Thursday said that creative freedom and freedom of expression cannot be curbed and the censor board cannot refuse to give a certificate to a film due to the fear of deteriorating law and order. A division bench of Justice BP Colabawala and Justice Firdaus Pooniwala expressed displeasure with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for not taking a decision regarding issuing a certificate to Kangana Ranaut’s film ‘Emergency’ and ordered a decision to be taken by September 25. The court said that Kangana Ranaut is a BJP MP, so is the ruling party working against its own MP?
The bench asked whether the CBFC thinks that the people of this country are so gullible that they will believe everything shown in the film. The petitioner claimed that the CBFC was delaying the issuance of the certificate to the film for political reasons, to which the High Court said, “Ranaut, the co-producer of the film, is herself a BJP MP and is the ruling party working against its MP? Ranaut has directed and co-produced the film besides playing the lead role of former Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi in it. The actress had earlier this week accused the CBFC of obstructing certification to delay the release.
“You (CBFC) have to take a decision one way or the other. You should have the courage to say that this film cannot be released. At least then we will appreciate your courage and boldness. We don’t want the CBFC to be in a dilly-dallying mode,” the bench said. The court was hearing a plea filed by Zee Entertainment Enterprises seeking direction to the CBFC to issue a certificate for the film ‘Emergency’.
The film was earlier scheduled to release on September 6, but it got mired in controversy after Sikh organizations including Shiromani Akali Dal raised objections. These organizations allege that the Sikh community has been portrayed in a wrong way and historical facts have been distorted in the film. Earlier this month, the High Court refused to direct the Censor Board to issue an immediate certificate to the film. After this, the bench directed the Censor Board to take a decision on issuing a certificate to the film by September 18.
On Thursday, senior advocate Abhinav Chandrachud, appearing for the CBFC, told the court that the board’s chairman has referred the film to the revising committee for a final decision. Chandrachud said there is a risk of public disorder. Senior advocate Venkatesh Dhond, appearing for Zee Entertainment, said this was done just to waste time and ensure that the film is not released before the Haryana elections in October.
The bench said that the CBFC has not followed its previous order and has only shifted the responsibility from one department to another. The bench said that the CBFC should not conclude that a film cannot be given a certificate due to the fear of deteriorating law and order. The High Court said, “This has to be stopped. Otherwise by doing all this we are completely curbing creative freedom and freedom of expression.” The court also wondered why people have become so sensitive about the scenes shown in films?
Justice Colabawala said in a lighter vein, “We don’t understand why people are so sensitive. My community is always ridiculed in films. We don’t say anything. We just laugh and move on.” Chandrachud sought two weeks’ time, while the court said the decision has to be taken by September 25. Dhond said the certificate was not being issued to the film due to political reasons.
Raising questions on the political angle, the bench asked whether the petitioner was claiming that the ruling party itself was against Ranaut, who is also the co-producer of the film and a BJP Lok Sabha member. “The co-producer herself is a BJP MP. She is also a member of the ruling party. So you are saying that her own party is against its member?” the court asked. Dhond claimed that the ruling party was hell-bent on angering a sitting MP to please a certain section of society. Zee Entertainment claimed in its plea that the CBFC had already prepared the certificate for the film but was not issuing it.
