New Delhi, July 15 (H.S.): The Supreme Court will hear a petition on July 16 seeking a stay on the release of the film 'Udaipur Files.' The plea was filed by Mohammad Javed, an accused in the Kanhaiya Lal murder case. Attorney Menka Guruswami argued that the film's release would interfere with the fair trial, while the court acknowledged another related petition scheduled for the same day, though it couldn’t confirm if they would be heard together. Advocate Gaurav Bhatia has challenged the Delhi High Court's interim stay, imposed on July 10, which halted the film's release and ordered the petitioner to submit objections to the central government by July 14. The High Court mandated that the government address these objections within a week, maintaining the stay until a decision was made.

The censor board reported that objectionable portions had been removed from the film. Following this, the High Court ordered a special screening for the petitioner and censor board lawyers. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the petitioner, contended that the film targets a specific community. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind filed the initial petition, pointing out that the film's trailer contains offensive remarks about Prophet Muhammad and others, potentially threatening national peace, and portrays Deoband negatively.

The petition names the central government, the censor board, and related parties involved in production and distribution, alleging misuse of freedom of expression and highlighting the film's biased depiction of a religious community, violating their rights to dignity. The film, based on a 2022 incident in Udaipur, features a 2-minute and 53-second trailer that has been called inflammatory against a specific community.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar