CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Friday refused to stall the continued screening of ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ in Tamil Nadu until the ongoing election process in the state gets over.
The first bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan, while refusing to grant the relief, also dismissed the petition filed by D Rakesh of Madurai.
The counsels for the petitioners submitted that the movie was released on March 19 — four days after the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into effect — and it is a propaganda film aimed at advertising the achievements of the BJP-led centre by depicting counter-terrorism and national security policies of the government.
They further said the BJP-led centre has used the official resources to screen the film in Tamil Nadu, where the party and its allies are contesting the elections. The film, produced as a quid pro quo, is “warmongering”, and it attempts to polarise people on the basis of their community, and thus, the CBFC should not have issued a certification, said the counsels.
The MCC prohibits publicity regarding the governmental achievements aimed at furthering the prospects of the party in power, they said. The glorification of real historical events presented as triumphs of the governmental policy unambiguously promotes the image of the BJP-led central government as the guarantor of India’s security, which is exactly the kind of publicity the poll code prohibits, they added.
However, the bench questioned the counsels as to what law prevents screening of the movie when the MCC is in force and noted that the movie was certified by the CBFC, which is a statutory body. It added that no such relief, as prayed for, can be given by the court as the petitioners have not challenged the CBFC’s certification.