Dhurandhar film row: Delhi High Court asks CBFC to hear objections by parents of Late Major Mohit Sharma
The parents had raised concerns that the film reconstructs covert missions and personal details about Major Sharma without authorization from his family or the Indian army.
Justice Sachin Datta passed the order on a plea by Sharma's parents who had sought an urgent stay on the film's release.
The parents had raised concerns that the film reconstructs covert missions and personal details of Major Sharma without authorization from his family or the Indian army.
The Court today took note of the CBFC's submission that it was yet to clear the film for release.
It proceeded to close the petition before it by directing the film certification body to examine the concerns raised by Major Sharma's parents before a decision is made on certifying the film.
Justice Datta further said that the CBFC is at liberty to seek the views of the armed forces if necessary.
The petition before the Court had stated that important aspects of Major Sharma's life and military service, including covert counter-terrorism operations in Kashmir, were mirrored in the movie's trailer and promotional materials.
The petitioners submitted that although Dhurandhar has been connected to Major Sharma's life in media reports and online discussions, the filmmakers have neither acknowledged this nor consulted them.
Major Sharma's parents argued that apart from violating a martyr's posthumous personality rights under Article 21 of the Constitution, such an unauthorised portrayal violates their right to privacy and dignity as well.
Concerns about national security were also raised in the petition, since the movie seemed to depict delicate military tactics, infiltration strategies, and operational procedures.
The Court today questioned the petitioners on why they apprehended that the movie was based on Major Sharma's life.
"How do you get that it is based on him?" Justice Datta asked.
"The trailer and material states. The critics and audience are saying so," the petitioners' counsel replied.
The CBFC, represented by Central Government Standing Counsel (CGSC) Ashish Dixit, then informed the Court that the film certification process for Dhurandhar is still underway.
“The certification is still under process. They have said that the movie is based on fiction. They have seen the film,” Dixit submitted.
He added that an official tweet by the filmmakers clarified that the movie was not connected to Major Mohit Sharma’s life.
He went on to submit that the CBFC may refer the matter to the army for its opinion as well.
"Why don’t you refer it to army anyway?... This plea is filed by the parents (of Major Sharma)? Then we want to take it more seriously. What is the problem if it is sent to the Army? Let the CBFC consider whether the Army has to decide or not," Justice Datta remarked, in turn.
Appearing for the filmmakers, Senior Advocate Saurabh Kirpal, meanwhile, maintained that the film was not drawn from Major Sharma's life.
"There is no connection with Mr Sharma. It is a misconceived petition. Only the trailer has been released. You cannot get an injunction on that," he said.
The Court eventually decided to leave it to the CBFC to examine the petitioners' concerns, and disposed of the petition on such terms.
"I am disposing it of, they [CBFC] can decide. We can’t do what CBFC can. We can only ask it to consider your concerns. They will take them into account," Justice Datta said.
