Can govts ban films cleared by censor board? SC agrees to hear issue

NEW DELHI: With the controversy over ‘Padmavati’ — which has been banned by many states —as the backdrop, the Supreme Court agreed on Thursday to examine whether governments can stop screening of a film after it is approved by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
A film producer approached the SC challenging the decision of UP and Uttarakhand govern- ments not to allow screening of his film on Muzaffarnagar riots in some districts.The movie, ‘Muzaffarnagar - The Burning Love’, was released on November 17. CBFC had cleared the film after the producer agreed to delete certain scenes and it was given U/A certificate.
Appearing before a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, the filmmaker’s counsel Sandeep Singh sought an urgent hearing and said the film was blacked out by district administrations without passing any order and theatre owners were verbally told not to screen the film. The court will hear the petition on Friday.