SC sends ‘Udaipur Files' movie release challenge to High Court, refuses to extend stay
A Bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said it would pass an order requesting the High Court to consider the challenge to the revisional authority's order on Monday itself.
The Court recorded that the producer's petition before it was withdrawn, while the accused's petition was closed with liberty to pursue the matter before the High Court.
Clarifying that it had not expressed any opinion on merits, the Bench told petitioners to approach the High Court. Justice Surya Kant remarked, 'Please don't waste time here. Go to the High Court.'
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the petitioners, urged the Court to restrain the film's release till the High Court considered their plea. However, Justice Kant refused to pass any interim order, stating, 'Meanwhile, nothing.'
Senior Advocate Gaurav Bhatia, for the producers, argued that petitioners before the High Court could not seek interim relief from the Supreme Court, particularly when the producers wanted to withdraw their petition.
Referring to a similar matter involving the movie 'The Kerala Story', he said, 'I have lost twelve days already.'
Justice Kant, on a lighter note, replied, 'Don't think you were in losses in these 12 days,' noting the publicity generated by the litigation.
A counsel for an intervenor submitted that the petitioners' concerns were imaginary, citing no adverse consequence from earlier films like ' the Kashmir Files' and the 'Kerala Story'.
He criticised the 'hyper sensitivity syndrome' of petitioners seeking to act as a 'super censor.'
Bhatia added that any interim order now would cause further damage to the producers. Sibal, in response, argued that the present case was different as the petitioner had watched the film and was challenging its content, also citing the Supreme Court's hate speech judgment in Amish Devgan v. Union of India.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed that the Wednesbury principle would apply when an expert body had taken a decision. (The Wednesbury principle establishes a standard for judicial review where courts can overturn decisions made by public bodies if those decisions are so unreasonable that no reasonable authority could have made them.)
Ultimately, the Bench directed that the High Court hear the matter on Monday, reiterating that it had not expressed any view on the merits.
Yesterday (July 24), the Court indicated it may remit the matter to the Delhi High Court for interim relief.
During the hearing, Justice Surya Kant remarked, 'It is the right of the society to watch or not watch a movie,' and stressed that judicial officers must decide cases based strictly on evidence. Commenting on public perception, he said, 'The judiciary should remain unaffected by all this nonsense… Most of us don't read newspapers in the morning. We don't care about it.'
On July 21, the Centre informed the Court it had ordered six changes to the movie. Earlier, on July 10, the Delhi High Court stayed the release of 'Udaipur Files' pending decision on pleas seeking a permanent ban over concerns of promoting disharmony.
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