NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to stall the release of film ‘Ram Ki Janmabhoomi’ which is scheduled to hit the screens across the country on March 29.
The petitioner had sought a stay on the film’s release, saying it will vitiate the ongoing mediation process in the Ayodhya land dispute. “There is no connection between mediation proceeding in Ayodhya case and release of film,” the Supreme Court said.
The Supreme Court on March 8 appointed a three-member panel of mediators to find a “permanent solution” to the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute in Ayodhya in eight weeks
The matter was mentioned by advocate Lily Thomas before the Bench of Justices SA Bobde and S Abdul Nazeer.She said that the release of the movie could impact the mediation ordered by the Supreme Court in Ram Mandir – Babri Masjid case.
Directed by Sanoj Mishra, penned by Waseem Rizwi and produced under the banner of Cine craft productions, Ram Janmabhoomi revolves around the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid dispute. The film stars Manoj Joshi, Govind Namdeo, Nazdeen Patni and Rajveer Singh in prominent roles.
The High Court’s observation came during the hearing of a plea filed by Yakub Habeebuddin Tucy, a self-proclaimed descendant of Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, seeking to stop the release of the film.
Responding to the plea, the court observed that for freedom of speech and expression to survive in India, people would have to be tolerant.Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) had cleared the film for release with an ‘A’ (restricted to adults) certificate.
Justice Vibhu Bakhru directed the movie’s producer to hold a private screening of the film for the petitioner Prince Yakub Habeebuddin Tucy, who claims to be a descendant of the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar.
