The Madras High Court has shut the door on attempts to block the release of Ranveer Singh's "Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge" in Tamil Nadu during the ongoing assembly election period, delivering a crisp and unambiguous ruling that neither the Model Code of Conduct nor any other law in force prohibits the screening of a certified film during an election cycle, a finding that carries immediate significance for filmmakers, distributors, and future petitioners who may seek to weaponise election law against cinematic releases.
The petitioners had approached the court seeking a direction against the film's makers and producer to halt its screening in the State until votes were counted, arguing that the movie glorified the counter-terrorism and anti-money laundering record of the BJP-led Central government, thereby amounting to partisan propaganda in violation of Chapter VII, Clause 4 of the Model Code of Conduct, a provision that bars use of public funds and official mass media for political advertising during elections. A second petitioner went further, contending that the film was war-mongering in nature, had stoked communal tension evidenced by violence in northern India, and should never have been certified in the first place. The filmmakers, Adithya Dhar and Lokesh Dhar, and producer Jyoti Deshpande were named as respondents.
The bench of Chief Justice S.A. Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan was unconvinced on every count. The Court zeroed in on a fundamental procedural gap that proved fatal to both petitions, neither petitioner had challenged the certificate issued by the Central Board of Film Certification, the statutory body that had already cleared the film for public exhibition.
The bench made its position unmistakably clear from the bench itself, "What is the law that a movie cannot be released when the Model Code of Conduct is in place? The CBFC has given a certificate. It's not challenged. Unless that is challenged, nothing can be done. The statutory body has permitted."
Finding no legal basis to interfere and no challenge to the CBFC's authority on record, the court dismissed both writ petitions, with a detailed order to follow.
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