Supreme Court Extends Stay On 'Udaipur Files' Release Until Thursday

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the stay on the release of the movie Udaipur Files will remain in effect until Thursday.

In today's hearing, the top court took note of the order passed by the Centre recommending six cuts in the movie before release. 

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymala Bagchi stated that the filmmakers will have to implement the six cuts recommended by the Centre.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for writ petitioner seeking stay on release said, "The Centre today informed the Supreme Court that it has passed an order in the applications seeking the revision of the certificate granted by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for the controversial movie "Udaipur Files: Kanhaiya Lal Tailor Murder."

On the other hand, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting accepted the report of an expert committee which suggested the changes.

The six mandated changes include a more detailed disclaimer stating that the film is a work of artistic expression and does not promote violence or defamation of any community. 

Additional changes include revising an AI-generated scene that depicts a Saudi Arabia-style turban, changing the character name "Nutan Sharma" to a different name, removing a dialogue attributed to Nutan Sharma, and deleting a conversation between the characters Hafiz and Maqbool.

Taking note of the Centre's order, the Supreme Court adjourned the petitions relating to the movie till Thursday. 

The Court granted the parties the liberty to file objections to the Centre's order. Until the next hearing, the stay on the film's release will remain in effect.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that imposing any further changes would violate the filmmakers' right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.

However, Advocate Menaka Guruswami appearing for Mohd Jawed said that they want to challenge the Centre's order which clears the way for release after implementing six cuts.