Emergency: Kangana Ranaut’s Film’s Plea For Certification Turned Down; Bombay HC Directs CBFC to Consider Objections

Emergency: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday rejected to issue any orders in line with a directive from the Madhya Pradesh High Court ordering the CBFC to take into accout objections to the film prior to certifying it, meaning that Kangana Ranaut’s film ‘Emergency‘ received no respite. The film’s September 6 unlock date has been rescheduled for two weeks as the HC instructed the censor board to review the objections made against it and thereafter certify it by September 18.

The film’s producer Zee Entertainment Enterprises had moved the Bombay HC taking a look for a direction to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to issue a certificate for the biographical drama ‘Emergency,’ helmed by actor-MP Kangana Ranaut. The plea claimed that the censor board was ready with the certificate but was no longer issuing it apprehending law and order unrest after the movie’s unlock.

A division bench of Justices B P Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla on Wednesday accepted the producer’s contention that the certificate was kept ready but no longer issued. The bench said once the certificate was issued online to the makers of the film, the CBFC’s contention that the certificate was no longer issued because it was no longer signed by the chairperson is inaccurate.

The court, on the choice hand, noted it should perhaps have directed the CBFC to issue the certificate on Wednesday itself had there no longer been an order from the Madhya Pradesh HC. “We know that there's something else occurring at the back of. We don’t comment on it. The CBFC shall have faith the objections and take a decision by September 18, ” it said.

The Madhya Pradesh HC on Tuesday heard petitions filed by Sikh groups claiming that the film contains scenes that can hurt their spiritual sentiments and will perhaps hence bring about unrest. The CBFC had claimed there that the movie had no longer yet been issued a certificate.

The Madhya Pradesh HC then directed the censor board to have faith the representation of the petitioner Sikh groups raising objections to the film prior to issuing the certificate to the movie. The CBFC was directed to carry out this exercise and judge expeditiously.

At some stage in the hearing of the petition filed by Zee Entertainment, the Bombay HC on Wednesday said that while it was with the petitioner on the issue it be going to't grant any relief within the wake of the order passed by the Madhya Pradesh HC. “The Madhya Pradesh HC has given the CBFC a direction. If we give any relief this day then it should perhaps be in an instant in contravention to that order. We're ready to be asking CBFC to breach yet another HC order if we pass any order this day. We're ready to't do that. Judicial propriety demands that of us,” the bench said.

Scheduled for unlock on September 6, the biographical drama is caught in a difficulty after Sikh organisations including the Shiromani Akali Dal objected, accusing it of misrepresenting the community and getting historical facts wrong.

(With PTI inputs)