
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought the stand of the Centre and Central Board of Film Certification on a plea by student activist Sharjeel Imam and others for shelving the movie "2020 Delhi" reportedly based on north-east Delhi riots.
Justice Sachin Datta asked the Centre's counsel to take instructions in the matter and posted the hearing on January 31.
The high court also issued notices to the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), Delhi Police and director and producers of the movie.
The movie is scheduled for release on February 2, three days before Delhi assembly elections.
Imam, an undertrial prisoner in the larger conspiracy case connected to the 2020 Delhi riots, stated that the posters and the promotional videos, including the teasers and trailers, intend to create a false narrative of a larger conspiracy behind the riots that took place in northeast Delhi and the events surrounding the incident.
He said charges were yet to be framed in the larger conspiracy case which was at a crucial stage of arguments on charge pending before a Delhi court.
Imam's bail plea has been pending in the Delhi High Court for more than two years. Imam completed five years in prison as an undertrial prisoner on Tuesday.
Aside from Imam, five other persons filed a separate petition seeking to postpone the release of the film till the criminal cases allegedly involving some of them were adjudicated.
Of the five, three face prosecution in the riots cases and two persons lost their family members in the violence.
The five petitioners, represented by advocates Mehmood Pracha and Jatin Bhatt, said the trailer of the movie "2020 Delhi" was intended to present a distorted, erroneous, and false narrative of the events surrounding the riots.
They also sought the quashing of the film certification issued by the CBFC.
Imam's plea stated the creators of the film had intentionally and deliberately thwarted the legal processes that exist, ignored the constitutional framework and purposefully misrepresented the account of the alleged events that took place in Delhi during February 2020.
"Such a heavily biased narrative, as showcased in the trailer of the film, has the potential to prejudice not just the bail application of the petitioner that is pending before this court but the sessions trial which is yet to commence before the special court," said his plea.
The plea further said the trailer featured a representation of the petitioner, showcased as the main character of the film, which could adversely affect his right to reputation and right to life with dignity It said no disclaimers or caveats were issued by the filmmakers saying charges are yet to be framed or the matter is pending in the court.
Sharjeel Imam, along with several other student leaders and human rights activists are accused of orchestrating the February 2020 Northeast Delhi riots which claimed at least 53 lives, mostly Muslims who were part of the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
However, the catalyst for the riots, according to media reports citing eyewitnesses, was comments made by BJP leaders including Kapil Mishra, who on February 23 issued a public ultimatum declaring that if the police did not clear the streets of the anti-CAA protesters, his supporters would be "forced to hit the streets."
(With inputs from Online Desk)