Kolkata. The Calcutta High Court on Thursday refused to pass any interim order on the release of the Hindi film ‘The Diary of West Bengal’, saying that in a democratic system, any kind of healthy criticism should not be suppressed.
A PIL was filed in the High Court requesting to stop the release of this film. The petition claimed that the film presents a wrong image of the Chief Minister of the state (Mamata Banerjee). The film will be released on August 30.
In its interim order, a division bench of Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya said that though it is not inclined to consider the petition, the senior advocate appearing for the petitioner has expressed his desire to give detailed arguments in support of the petition, so the matter should be listed for hearing after three weeks.
The Chief Justice said, “We are in a democratic system and any kind of healthy criticism should not be stopped through a biopic.” The bench said, “We are a tolerant society, West Bengal has been a tolerant society.” Petitioner’s lawyer Joy Saha claimed before the court that the film directed by Sanoj Mishra attempts to promote animosity between the two communities.
The bench said that the Supreme Court has already ruled on petitions seeking a ban on a book, film or play that it is up to the people whether they will watch or read them or not. The court also questioned the jurisdiction of the person filing the PIL and said that if any person depicted in the film is hurt, then that person can approach the court.
The bench said that the petitioner can approach the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) requesting to cancel the certificate for the release of the controversial film. The lawyer representing the CBFC argued before the court that it has granted a certificate for the release of the film.