Court order lifts ban on Godse play

mumbai: in a judgment upholding the right of freedom of expression, the bombay high court on tuesday quashed a maharashtra government notification which stipulated that copies of scripts of the controversial play mee nathuram godse boltoy would be forfeited by the government. the order effcetively lifts the ban on the play. the notification dated december 3, 1998 and the consequent communication by the police commissioner banning the play were held to be illegal, invalid, ultra vires and set aside. a full bench comprising chief justice b.p. singh, justice s. radhakrishnan and justice d.y. chandrachud held that the state government had exercised its powers under section 95(1) of the criminal procedure code to forfeit copies of the play's scripts for reasons extraneous to conditions statutorily mandated. a plea by additional government pleader c.r. sonawane for an eight-week stay of the order to enable the state to appeal before the apex court was refused by the bench. observing that powers of forfeiture were drastic, the court held that section 95 does not empower the state to issue an order of forfeiture merely because it apprehended a `law and order situation' may arise due to opposition from a segment of society to the message which is sought to be conveyed in the play. the state notification had stated that the play contained `derogatory references to mahatma gandhi and certain communities which are likely to disturb public tranquillity and promote disharmony.' the court noted that the state failed to specify which part of the play it felt would promote disharmony. the state had said it received complaints from several political parties with regard to the performance of the play. pradeep dalvi, the play's writer, who was present in court walked out a happy man. he said, ``the court has upheld my right to freedom of speech. i will start the play's performance as early as dussera now.'' when the play, which has strong production values and excellent acting by most members of the cast, was staged at shivaji mandir at dadar last year, the congress and other parties staged angry demonstrations. the verdict, written by justice chandrachud, observed that ``respect for and tolerance of a diversity of viewpoints is what ultimately sustains a democratic society and government.'' it said popular perception, however, strong ``cannot override values'' which are guaranteed by the constitution in what was always intended to be a free society. the court noted that the law does not have to accept the views expressed in the play in order to respect the playwright's right to expression. after going through the state's arguments thoroughly, the bench said, it failed to find any justification in its decision to forfeit the play's scripts. the court pointed out glaring deficiencies in the notification. it said the government notification did not set out any grounds of opinion on which its decision was based, nor the basis on which the play would `disturb public tranquillity.' the judgment noted that ``mere reference to statutory provisions of section 153-a of the indian penal code will not save notification against consequences of invalidity.'' government affidavits were equally silent on the facts on the basis of which the state's decision rested. in an important observation, the court said offending the sensitivities of followers of mahatma gandhi could not be equated with offending religion or religious beliefs of a class of citizens. it was also noted by the court that the state performance scrutiny board had approved the play in november 1997 and had declined to revoke its order of certification. significantly, it was further observed that the government notification did not state that the playwright had a malicious intention to outrage the feelings of any class of citizens.