New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday disposed of the plea challenging the upcoming film ‘Ghooskhor Pandit’ after filmmaker Neeraj Pandey informed the apex court that the controversial title and all related promotional materials have been withdrawn.
A division bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan took on record an affidavit filed by Pandey that the controversial title would no longer be used “in any manner” and all promotional materials bearing the former name had been removed.
Recording the developments, a bench led by Justice Nagarathna closed the proceedings saying no further directions were required in the matter.
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During the hearing, the lawyer appearing for the producers said that the title has already been withdrawn and the controversy related to the film should now end.
The top court said that once the undertaking is given and accepted, no fresh criminal proceedings should be initiated in respect of the disputed ownership.
While disposing of the petition, the Supreme Court remarked that the dispute related to the title of the film should now be considered closed and the petition should be disposed of.
The public interest litigation (PIL) before the apex court had alleged that the title and story of the film promote caste and religion-based stereotyping and hurt the dignity of the Brahmin community.
The plea argued that linking the caste identifier “Pandit” with the word “ghuskhor” (bribe taker) led to derogatory stereotyping against an identifiable community and violated constitutional protections under Articles 14, 19(2), 21, 25 and 51A(E).
Following the Supreme Court’s rebuke, filmmaker Neeraj Pandey filed an affidavit assuring the top court that the controversial title has been “categorically withdrawn” and the film does not insult or target any religion or community.
Last week, the Supreme Court had strongly reprimanded the filmmakers over the title “Ghushkhor Pandit” and said that freedom of speech and expression cannot be used as a license to defame a section of the society.
A bench led by Justice Nagarathna had issued notice to the Centre, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and the film producer, while indicating that unless the title is changed, the film will not be allowed to release.
“Freedom of speech and expression does not mean that you can portray a community in a bad light,” the top court had remarked, warning that such naming could disturb social harmony at a time when social tension already exists.
Also read: Bribery Pandit title removed, not an insult to religion, community: Neeraj Pandey in Supreme Court
In a related development, the Delhi High Court had earlier disposed of a similar plea that sought to stay the release of the film after Netflix submitted that it would change the title and remove all promotional materials bearing the old name from social media.
Taking the statement on record, a single-judge bench of Justice Purushindra Kumar Kaurav of the Delhi High Court said that no further directions are required in view of the stand taken by the streaming platform.