The Gujarat High Court on Friday lifted
its stay to the release of Maharaj, debut film of Bollywood star Aamir Khan's
son Junaid, observing that it did not target the Vaishnav Pushtimarg sect as
alleged by its members. Some members of the Pushtimarg sect had filed a
petition against its release, claiming that the film hurt religious sentiments.
The film has nothing objectionable or derogatory, the court said after watching
it, and allowed its release on streaming platform Netflix.
The film is based on an 1862 libel case
which was centred on a clash between a Vaishnavite religious leader and social
reformer Karsandas Mulji. He, in an article published in a Gujarati weekly, had
alleged that the godman had sexual relations with his female devotees, leading
to the case for defamation which the social reformer won.
Justice Sangeeta Vishen of the Gujarat
High Court, who had granted an interim stay to the film on June 13, a day
before its scheduled release, watched the film on Thursday before passing the
order. Allowing the film's release on Friday, Justice Vishen refused to stay her
order as requested by the Pushtimarg sect's lawyer Mihir Joshi, and said that
YRF and Netflix “are at liberty to release the movie”. The judge, in her order,
noted that the film has already been certified by Central Board of Film
Certification.
“Having viewed the film, this court found
nothing objectionable that would hurt religious feelings of petitioners or a
sect. The core message of the film revolves around social evil and the fight
against it by social reformer Karasandas Mulji, who was also from a Vaishnavite
community,” the judge said while reading out the order in the court. The film
ends with a note praising the Vaishnav community, and the devotional verse
Govind Stotram is also recited in the film, she noted. The book authored by
Saurabh Shah on which the film is based was published way back in January 2013,
Justice Vishen said, adding that it was based on a true story.
As to the petitioners' argument that the
content of the film was “incendiary” and likely to incite hatred and violence
against the Pushtimarg sect, the judge noted that when the book came out 11
years ago, no incident of violence was recorded.
“The apprehension that the movie is
derogatory and runs down a religion is based on surmises. The freedom of
expression as guaranteed by the Constitution cannot be curtailed,” said Justice
Vishen. “Maharaj is based on events which led to the libel case, and it is not
targeted to hurt sentiments of Pushtimarg sect. The film has been certified by
CBFC and an expert body after considering the relevant aspects,” the court
observed.
During the hearing, the petitioners'
lawyer had argued that the British-era court which decided the 1862 case “castigated
the Hindu religion” and made blasphemous comments against Lord Krishna as well
as certain devotional songs and hymns.
The petitioners had approached the
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, requesting it to take steps to stop
the release, but there was no response, advocate Joshi said. He also argued
that Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, which gives the right to freedom of
speech and expression, is not a “license to insult” and the law does not
protect publishers (such as OTT platforms) only because their creation is based
on true events.
Appearing for Netflix, senior lawyer Mukul
Rohatgi argued that the petitioners' prayer to set aside the film's censorship
certificate was misconceived, as such certification is not required for a
release on OTT platform.
One of the petitioners, a “prominent
businessman of Ahmedabad”, did not take any steps against the book on which the
film is based or material available on the internet, Rohatgi said. The film is
based on legal history which cannot be eradicated, he argued. The YRF counsel
told the court that the part of the libel case ruling to which the petitioners
objected was not included in the screenplay.
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