The Supreme Court today once again refused to vacate its order which allowed nationwide release of the film ‘Nanak Shah Fakir’ and posted the petition filed by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) against the film for hearing on April 16, 2018.
SGPC moved the Supreme Court today for urgent hearing since the film is slated for nationwide release tomorrow.
The Bench reiterated that since the film has received the certification from CBFC, outsiders cannot interfere into it.
The counsel appearing for SGPC argued that the Sikh body is a statutory body and passed a resolution in 2003 that no one was allowed to depict the role of any Sikh Guru or their family members.
As per reports, in another petition, the Delhi High Court also refused to stay the release of the film. The Delhi High Court said it was unbelievable that the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC), which has filed the petition challenging the no objection certificate issued by the Censor Board, was not aware of the making of film till now. A Bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said the “release of the film cannot be interdicted”.
The court directed the Centre to ensure maintenance of law and order and made it clear that it was not granting any ex-parte relief to DSGMC without hearing the film producer.
The Supreme Court had on April 10, 2018 in a petition filed by producer Harinder Sikka, issued notice to all the states, directing them to ensure that law and order is maintained.
The Bench had said it was yet another example of a private body attempting to curtail freedom of expression of an author who scripted an idea in celluloid language.
The film was initially cleared by the CBFC on March 30, 2015, and slated for release in April 2015, but after large scale protests, it was banned in Punjab for two months. Thereafter, Sikka had withdrawn its worldwide release.
He had claimed to have carried out necessary modification as suggested by the SGPC and again approached the CBFC, which cleared the movie on March 28, 2018. But the SGPC is said to have withdrawn its support to the movie on March 30, 2018.
Image source: here
