Delhi High Court: Amidst the increasing clamour surrounding the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for its unnecessary incisions of the movies, a Division Bench comprising Rohini C.J. and Nath J. upheld the ruling of the Single Bench, rejecting all the incisions/deletions suggested by CBFC for the documentary ‘Textures of Losses’.
The documentary film highlighting the plight of Kashmiris caused due to gun violence in the region had obtained recommendations of CBFC for incisions/deletions of certain portions of the documentary. The recommendations were challenged by the producer/director of the documentary before the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal, which partly upheld the recommendations. Aggrieved by the same, the respondents approached the High Court, where the Single Bench set aside all recommendations in entirety. In the letters patent appeal filed, the appellants represented by Gaurav Sarin contended that the film being on a sensitive topic of violence in Kashmir required consideration with due care and caution in light of protecting the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India enshrined under Art. 19(2) of the Constitution.
The Bench refused to accept that there was any objectionable material in the film, stating that all views expressed by the people in the film are their personal views and are not anti-national. Court noted that the film seemed to depict the emotions of the persons who lost their dear ones in the violence. With the mutual settlement for placing a disclaimer at the commencement of the movie, the Court directed a ‘U’ certificate for the film, disposing the appeal in favour of the respondents. [Central Board of Film Certification v. Pankaj Butalia, 2016 SCC OnLine Del 844, decided on 15/02/2016]
Pahlaj Nihlani should take it as a lesson!