udaipur-files-hc-to-examine-if-centre-acted-beyond-its-powers

As the stalemate continues over it's release ,  Delhi High Court is set to examine whether the Central government acted beyond its powers by ordering changes to Udaipur Files, a movie based on the murder of Rajasthan-based tailor Kanhaiya Lal.

 

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela today asked Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma to answer the argument that Central government, while exercising its revisional powers under Cinematograph Act, acted as an appellate board in the case."This is very important. The nature of order that can be passed by you has been enumerated [in law]. The order you have passed falls in which sub-clause?

 

This power of making changes as it deems fit is not there," Chief Justice Upadhyaya remarked.The Court added that the Central government has to exercise the revisional power within the four corners of the law and that the earlier court order did not ask it to decide some representation but exercise a statutory power under Section 6 of the Cinematograph Act."You cannot go beyond that. You are not exercising your general administrative powers," it further said.

 

Though the Court even went on to remark Centre seemed to have acted as appellate authority by ordering cuts in the movie, ASG Sharma said Central government had abided by the Court order and also decided in accordance with Section 6.Section 6 allows the government to declare a film certified by the censor board to be uncertified and suspends its exhibition.The hearing on this aspect will continue on August 1, Friday.

 

The issue related to the re-examination of the movie was raised by Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy, who represented Mohammed Javed, one of the accused in the Kanhaiya Lal murder case.She said that the Central government's revisional powers under Section 6 are limited."The Central government cannot suggest cuts, modify dialogue, disclaimer, basically become film board like in this case. The Central government does not have the statutory power to become a master director of this film by saying 'remove certain dialogue, remove certain disclaimers, use these words in the disclaimer, change the content of this, I'm going to make a few cuts and you release the film'," she added.