After Supreme Court, Delhi HC Rejects Plea Against Release of Padmavati

NEW DELHI:
The Delhi High Court on Friday quashed a petition against the release of Padmavati, describing it as “hopeless” and “misconceived”, and an encouragement to people agitating against the Bollywood film. The plea sought creation of a panel ahead of the film’s release to ensure there is no “distortion” of history in regard to the portrayal of Rani Padmavati of Chittorgarh.
“Have you (counsel for the petitioner) seen the film? Have the people, who are burning cinema halls seen the film? By this kind of petitions you are encouraging the people who are agitating,” the bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar, observed.
The public interest litigation (PIL) was filed on November 16 by the Akhand Rashtrawadi Party, which calls itself a political party in the PIL. It approached the HC to direct the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to set up a committee, headed by a retired HC judge and comprising members of the censor board, a social activist and three history experts from any university.
Meanwhile, the body of a man was found hanging from Jaipur’s Nahargarh fort on Friday morning and a message written on a rock nearby suggested the death was linked to the row over the Bollywood movie Padmavati.
“We don’t just hang effigies. Padmavati”, said the message in Hindi, seen in images posted by a news agency.
The man has been identified as Chetan Saini, a 40-year-old local resident, who ran a jewellery and handicrafts business from home. Saini left home on Thursday afternoon and last spoke to his wife at 5.30 pm, a police officer said.
An investigation is on to find out whether it was suicide or murder, said Satyendra Singh, DCP Jaipur (North).
Singh said there were things written in Hindi on the rocks nearby, which are linked to Padmavati. “We will probe whose hand writing it is and who has written it,” he said.
When asked about mention of the some tantric ritual with the victim’s name on the rocks, Singh said Saini’s family has denied that he was involved in tantric rituals.