Ruling party acting against its own MP: Bombay HC questions in 'Emergency' film case

Bombay High Court/ File Photo

The Bombay High Court questioned whether the ruling party was working against its own MP, Kangana Ranaut, in the ongoing controversy over the certification of her film Emergency. Ranaut directed and co-produced the film, which portrays the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and it has been delayed due to protests expressed by Sikh organisations over alleged historical inaccuracy, reported PTI.

According to the report, during the hearing, the Bombay HC chastised the Central Board of Picture Certification (CBFC) for neglecting to decide on certifying the movie.

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Venkatesh Dhond, senior attorney for Zed Entertainment, said that the CBFC was purposefully delaying the release for political purposes, alleging that the ruling party was attempting to pacify specific sections before the Haryana elections, the report further added.

Justice BP Colabawalla noted that Ranaut, a BJP MP, was also a co-producer of Emergency, prompting the inquiry, "The co-producer herself is a BJP MP. She is also part of the ruling party. So you are saying her own party is against its member?"

Following this, the senior attorney said that the saffron party was ready to displease its sitting parliamentarian to appease a particular section of society, stated the PTI report.

The court underlined its disapproval of the CBFC's handling of the situation, adding that creative freedom and freedom of speech should not be restricted due to concerns about public disruption.

The HC, per the news agency report, said, "It was not for the CBFC to come to a conclusion that there may be a law and order problem and hence a movie cannot be certified."

"This has to stop. Otherwise, we are completely curtailing creative freedom and freedom of expression by doing all this," the HC said.

It asked, "Does the CBFC think the public in this country is so naive and stupid to believe everything they see in films? What about creative freedom?"

The court has asked the CBFC to make a verdict on the film's certification by September 25. The bench further stressed that worries about potential law and order difficulties should not affect the certification process, as this was not a valid grounds to withhold certification, the news agency report stated.