Supreme Court turns down Padmavati plea

NEW DELHI/Bhopal: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea seeking deletion of certain alleged objectionable scenes from the upcoming movie 'Padmavati', terming it as premature.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra was informed that the film has not yet received the certification from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

"Our interference in this writ petition will tantamount to pre-judging, which we are not inclined to do," the bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said.

Advocate M L Sharma, who had filed the petition, alleged that though the Censor Board has not given a certificate to the movie, the songs of the film have already been released.

Sharma had approached the court seeking a direction for removal of all scenes of alleged 'character assassination' of Queen Padmavati from the movie before its release.

Viacom 18, the makers of the Deepika Padukone-Ranveer Singh-Shahid Kapoor starrer Bollywood flick had on Sunday said that they had deferred the movie's release which was originally scheduled on December 1. The plea has sought directions to the Centre, the director of the movie, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Viacom 18, which has co-produced the film along with the director and the Central Board of Film Certification.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday said that even if the film is cleared for release by the censor board, it will not be allowed to screen in his state. The BJP leader said that a film which has "distorted facts" about a Rajput queen is unacceptable. "The insult will not be tolerated," he said.

Captain Amarinder Singh, senior Congress leader and Chief Minister of Punjab, has also joined the chorus of politicians who are demanding a ban on Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus.

"Nobody will accept the distortion of history and those who are protesting are rightly doing so," said Captain Singh. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has said that the film should not screen till objectionable scenes are deleted; Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is also from the BJP, has warned the Centre of likely law and order problems in his state if the film releases.

A BJP leader in Haryana who made an outrageous public offer for Rs. 10 crore for the heads of Padukone and Bhansali has been ordered by the party to explain his remarks but has not been asked to quit office.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday condemned the ongoing controversy over Sanjay Leela Bhansali's historical drama "Padmavati", labelling it as "unfortunate" and a "calculated plan" to destroy freedom of expression.

"The #Padmavati controversy is not only unfortunate but also a calculated plan of a political party to destroy the freedom to express ourselves. We condemn this super emergency," Banerjee tweeted.

The Trinamool Congress supremo urged the film industry to protest in unison. "All in the film industry must come together and protest in one voice."

CBFC chief Prasoon Joshi on Monday said the censor board is trying to come up with a "balanced decision" on "Padmavati" but it should be given adequate space and time to do that.