The Delhi High Court on Friday reserved its judgment on a batch of petitions challenging the release and trailer of a movie titled ‘2020 Delhi,’ based on the riots that took place in the North-East area of Delhi in 2020.
The single-judge Bench of Justice Sachin Datta reserved judgment on three petitions.
The first plea has been filed by riots accused Sharjeel Imam, while the second has been filed by riots accused Tasleem Ahmed, Akil Ahmed and Sonu, as well as riot victims Sahil Parvez and Mohd Sayeed Salmani.
An independent candidate contesting the upcoming elections to the Delhi Legislative Assembly, Umang, has also moved the High Court regarding the release of film 2020 Delhi.
Appearing for Tasleem Ahmed and others, Advocate Mehmood Pracha today submitted that the trailer of the movie violated Section 5(b) of the Cinematograph Act as well as the Contempt of Courts Act.
Calling the film an iceberg, the Counsel said the trailer was the tip of the iceberg. He apprised the Court about the reference made in the trailer, which said the film was inspired by true events of the 2020 riots.
Appearing for the production house of the film, Senior Advocate Jayant Mehta argued that the petition was not maintainable as no certificate has been obtained yet by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for its public screening.
Senior Advocate Mehta assured the Court that there would be no public screening of the movie till a certification was obtained by the CBFC. The film would not be screened on social media till its certification. No certificate was required for the trailer of the film, he added.
Advocate Pracha, however, contended that screening in the absence of certification would apply to any part of the film, including the trailer.
Advocate Warisha Farasat, representing Imam, submitted that the trailer of the movie prejudiced Sharjeel as he was shown as the main person behind the riots.
The trailer started with a man giving a speech, which, according to the Counsel, was portrayed to be Imam. She said the words used in the trailer were identical to those attributed to Imam in the charge sheet filed in the trial court regarding a case registered against Imam under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The trial in the case was at a crucial stage and Imam’s right to a fair and free trial would be prejudiced due to the trailer, added Advocate Farasat.
She alleged that the movie makers did not try to hide Imam’s identity at all. The comments were duplicate of what was there in the charge sheet and even the way he dressed up was similar. They did not even camouflage the identity of Imam, she added.
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