Filmmaker Neeraj Pandey on Thursday filed an affidavit informing the Supreme Court that he has withdrawn the title of his upcoming film 'Ghooskhor Pandat' along with all publicity material.
Hearing the submission from Pandey, the bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan disposed of the plea.
The court did so after taking Pandey's affidavit on record and said it is expected that the controversy will now be laid to rest.
"Though the new title of the Manoj Bajpayee-starrer has not yet been finalised, it will not be similar to the earlier name," Pandey in his affidavit said.
Earlier, in its last hearing on February 12, the top court had strongly criticised the makers of the film and questioned its controversial title, noting that a section of society cannot be denigrated in the name of freedom of speech and expression.
"Why should you denigrate a section of society by this kind of title? Being woke is one thing. But you are adding to the unrest," said the bench as it issued notices to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and Pandey on a plea against the movie.
The top court passed these strong observations against the filmmaker after hearing a plea filed by Atul Mishra, the National Organisation Secretary of the Brahman Samaj of India, through advocate Dr Vinod Kumar Tewari. The plea sought directions to ban the film from being released or screened in its current form.
The petition alleged that the film was casteist and aimed to defame the Brahmin community. Various groups and political figures, including BSP supremo Mayawati and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, demanded a ban on the film, calling it an insult to the community.
The court had earlier clarified that while it fully respects the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a), that freedom is not absolute.
The court had questioned the use of the word “Pandat” and “Ghooskhor” (bribe taker), observing that such a title could unfairly stigmatise an identifiable community.
Expressing serious concern about the larger social impact of such titles, the court had said, "We thought filmmakers, journalists, etc are responsible people. You tell us the new name otherwise we will not permit release of this film."