A PIL has been filed before the Madhya Pradesh High Court, challenging the screening of 'Emergency', an upcoming Hindi film starring Kangana Ranaut, on the ground that it contains scenes which violate the fundamental rights of Sikhs.
The PIL 'Emergency' has scenes which violate fundamental rights of the Sikh community and sought unconditional apology from the actor-politician who plays the lead role in the movie, and other respondents.
The BJP Lok Sabha MP from Himachal Pradesh's Mandi has portrayed former prime minister Indira Gandhi in the film scheduled for release on September 6.
A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf here issued the notices, returnable in 24 hours, to respondents during preliminary hearing on the PIL filed by two Sikh organisations.
The court ordered sending of the notices through electronic mode to respondents and added it is returnable with their replies on issues raised in the plea by September 3, the petitioners' counsel, NS Ruprah told PTI over phone. It fixed the next date of hearing on Tuesday (Sept 3).
Joplayed All The Jabalpur Sikh Sangat and the Shri Guru Singh Sabha, Indore have filed the plea stating that Sikhs are directly affected by the film and have thus chosen to move the court for protection of their dignity and honour enshrined in the Constitution, he added.
The petition has sought a direction to the Union government and the Madhya Pradesh government to restrict the screening of the movie across the country, particularly in the central state, Ruprah added. Besides this, the plea has prayed for a direction to Ranaut and other respondents to tender an unconditional apology to the entire nation for making such an "irresponsible" film and pay exemplary damages to a Sikh charitable organization/institution.
The 38-year-old actor has directed and co-produced the biographical political drama film, the lawyer said. Notices have been issued to the Centre, the MP government, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), Manikarnika Films Pvt Ltd, Zee Studios Ltd, Zee Studios Chief Business Officer Umesh K Bansal, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook India Online Services Pvt Ltd.
On Friday, Ranaut said her film was still stuck with the censor board, contrary to reports it has been cleared for release. In a video message posted on X, the actor claimed she and members of CBFC had received threats and that she is under pressure not to show in the film the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984.
Read also| Kangana Ranaut Claims 'Emergency' Is Still Held Up by Censor Board
Read also| Kangana Ranaut Prays for ‘Good Rain’ and ‘No Floods’ in Her Constituency
