Show Padmavat in court: Rajasthan high court asks Sanjay Leela Bhansali
The court gave the direction while hearing a petition filed by Bhansali to quash an FIR registered against him and others including Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone with Didwana police station in Nagaur district of Rajasthan.
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Padmavati ban in Jaipur.
Jaipur: Rajasthan high court on Friday asked Bollywood producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali to show the controversial movie, Padmavat, in the court before January 23.
The court gave the direction while hearing a petition filed by Bhansali to quash an FIR registered against him and others including Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone with Didwana police station in Nagaur district of Rajasthan. The movie is slated for release on January 25.
Bhansali had filed a revision petition in the Jodhpur bench of Rajasthan high court, requesting that the FIR registered against him be quashed.
The FIR was lodged with Didwana police station under section 153A and 295A of IPC on February 17 last year. In the FIR, the complainants, Virendra Singh and Nagpal Singh, alleged that the movie threatened to disrupt communal harmony and hurt the religious sentiments of a community.
In the review petition, the petitioner pleaded that the movie had not even been released, so the complainants didn’t have any basis to determine if the claims made in the FIR were true.
The single bench of Justice Sandeep Mehta stated that the FIR raised serious allegations against the petitioners, so how the FIR could be quashed without judging the merit of the complaint.
The court asked the producers to hold a screening of the movie in the court before January 23.
The lawyers told the court that they would consult with their client, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and appraise the court of the date when the screening could be held.
The high court had earlier put a stay on the FIR, directing the police not to take any further action in the matter. The court had also sought an explanation from the complainants.
The Censor Board allowed the producers to release the movie after they agreed to some amendments. The movie’s name was changed to Padmavat from Padmavati.
The Rajasthan government has banned Padmavat. Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje said that the home minister Gulab Chand Kataria has been directed to take steps to prevent the release of the Ranveer Singh – Deepika Padukone – Shahid Kapoor starrer film.
