On Thursday, the Bombay High Court emphasized that creative freedom and freedom of expression cannot be restricted merely due to the apprehension of potential law and order issues, as reported by PTI. The court expressed displeasure over the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC)’s delay in deciding whether to certify Kangana Ranaut-starrer Emergency and ordered that a decision be made by September 25.
A division bench of Justices B P Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla questioned the CBFC’s hesitation and asked whether the board thought the people of the country were so naive as to accept everything depicted in films as absolute truth. The court also expressed concern over the petitioner’s claim that the CBFC was delaying the certification due to political reasons.
The HC noted that Kangana Ranaut, the co-producer, director, and lead actor in the film, is a sitting BJP MP, questioning whether the ruling party would act against its own leader.
Emergency, a political drama in which Kangana portrays former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was originally scheduled for release on September 6. Earlier this week, Kangana accused the CBFC of intentionally stalling the certification process to delay the film’s release.
