January 18, 2018

Supreme Court says that it is duty of states to maintain law & order, rather than banning movies.

Today, the Supreme Court stayed the 4-state ban on the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film 'Padmaavat' & has also restrained all the other states from issuing such a ban on the exhibition of this film, which stars Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, and Shahid Kapoor.

A bench of CJI Dipak Misra, & Justices AM Khanwilkar & DY Chandrachud observed that the film was cleared by the CBFC with a U/A certificate after keeping in mind the provisions of the Cinematograph Act, which prohibits scenes that denigrate women. It upheld the petitioners' contention that the film formed a part of the filmmaker's freedom of speech & expression guaranteed under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution.

This verdict comes as a relief to team ‘Padmaavat’, especially after the fringe group - Rajput Karni Sena, on Wednesday, continued to demand a nation-wide ban on the film & openly threatened to create a “war-like situation in the country.”

After the Apex Court rejected the ban imposed by the states on movie Padmaavat, governments of Haryana and Rajasthan, two of the four states to have banned the release of the movie, today said that though they respect the decision of the apex court, however, they will look for legal provisions to appeal against the SC's order.

The government of Rajasthan, which was one of the 1st states to ban the movie welcomed the decision & said it'll look for legal options to challenge it. "We respect the SC's decision, will abide by it. My department & I'll look for a legal provision if one is possible, after reading Supreme Court's decision & then we'll move forward," said Rajasthan Home minister Gulab Chand Kataria.

The government of Haryana, too, held a similar view on the SC's order. "Supreme Court gave the decision without listening to our side. Supreme Court is the supreme so will abide by the decision. We'll also examine the decision and see if there's a scope of appealing against it," said Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij.

Governments of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are yet to respond on the Supreme Court's order.

However, Rajput Karni Sena, one of the vehement opponents of the movie, refused to change its position & demanded a ban on movie's release.

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