The
Delhi
High
Court
today
reserved
its
decision
on
a
plea
alleging
that
Bollywood
film
Padmaavat
glorified
the
practice
of
'sati'
and
seeking
penal
action
against
its
producers
and
director.
A
bench
of
Acting
Chief
Justice
Gita
Mittal
and
Justice
C
Hari
Shankar
said
it
has
to
be
shown
that
the
idea
of
glorifying
the
practice
was
being
intentionally
propagated
by
the
producers
and
director
of
the
film.
It
observed
that
according
to
one
of
the
disclaimers
in
the
film,
it
is
a
work
of
fiction
and
therefore,
it
does
not
show
any
intention
or
animus
on
the
part
of
the
producers
or
director,
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali,
to
propagate
the
practice.
The
observations
came
during
the
hearing
of
a
PIL
by
social
activist
Swami
Agnivesh
who
has
sought
deletion
of
the
scenes
that
depict
the
practice
of
'sati'.
'Sati'
is
a
funeral
custom
where
a
widow
immolates
herself
on
her
husband's
pyre
or
takes
her
own
life
in
another
manner
shortly
after
her
husband's
death.
The
petition,
filed
through
advocate
Mehmood
Pracha,
also
seeks
directions
to
the
Delhi
Police
to
lodge
an
FIR
against
Ajit
Andhare,
one
of
the
producers,
and
Bhansali.
Central
government
standing
counsel
Manish
Mohan,
appearing
for
the
Ministry
of
Information
and
Broadcasting
and
the
censor
board,
opposed
the
plea,
saying
the
movie
was
certified
for
public
viewing
after
considering
all
the
aspects.
Pracha
argued
that
even
he
saw
the
scenes
showing
'sati'
or
'jauhar'
and
he
too
was
of
the
view
that
the
manner
in
which
it
was
being
shown,
"glorifies" the
practice.
The
bench,
however,
said
if
the
petitioner's
view
was
accepted,
then
the
scene
showing
attempted
disrobing
of
Draupadi
in
the
Mahabharata
serial
would
be
construed
as
propagating
sexual
violence
against
women.
"Just
because
someone
shows
something,
does
not
mean
it
is
propagation.
If
someone
views
it
(film)
and
gets
affected,
then
the
person
showing
it
cannot
be
blamed.
The
effect
does
not
make
out
an
offence," the
bench
said.
The
court
also
said
that
in
the
present
day
and
age,
it
was
"hesitant
to
accept"
the
petitioner's
claim
that
someone
would
follow
such
a
practice
just
by
seeing
the
movie.
The
high
court
on
January
25
had
rejected
a
Rajasthan-based
group's
plea
seeking
quashing
of
the
certification
granted
to
the
film,
saying
the
Supreme
Court
had
permitted
its
release.
The
film,
which
hit
the
theatres
on
January
25,
is
directed
by
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali
and
has
Deepika
Padukone,
Ranveer
Singh
and
Shahid
Kapoor
in
the
lead
roles.
It
is
based
on
the
saga
of
a
historic
battle
of
13th
century
between
Maharaja
Ratan
Singh
and
his
army
of
Mewar
and
Sultan
Alauddin
Khilji
of
Delhi.
The
bench
had
declined
to
hear
the
matter
and
asked
the
petitioner
group,
Jauhar
Smriti
Sansthan,
to
move
the
apex
court
as
it
had
permitted
the
screening
of
the
film.
The
impending
release
of
the
movie
had
led
to
several
incidents
of
vandalism,
including
an
attack
on
a
school
bus
in
Gurugram
and
torching
of
a
Haryana
Roadways
bus
on
January
24.
The
set
of
the
movie
was
vandalised
twice
--
in
Jaipur
and
Kolhapur,
while
its
director
Bhansali
was
roughed
up
by
members
of
the
Karni
Sena
last
year.
The
apex
court
had
paved
the
way
for
nationwide
release
of
the
movie
by
staying
the
ban
on
its
screening
in
Gujarat
and
Rajasthan.
It
had
also
restrained
other
states
from
issuing
any
such
notification
or
order
banning
the
screening
of
the
film.
Maintaining
that
the
states
were
under
constitutional
obligation
to
maintain
law
and
order,
the
apex
court
had
said
this
duty
also
included
providing
police
protection
to
the
persons
involved
in
the
film,
its
exhibition
and
the
audience
watching
it.
The
top
court
had
on
January
18
passed
the
interim
order
on
the
plea
by
Viacom
18
Media
Pvt
Ltd
and
other
producers
of
the
movie
challenging
the
bar
on
screening
of
the
movie
by
Gujarat,
Rajasthan,
Haryana
and
Madhya
Pradesh.
PTI