CONTEMPT MOVE AGAINST KARNI AND 4 BJP STATES
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s movie has attracted two more petitions in the Supreme Court that will be heard on Monday. This time the petition is not for a review of the Apex Court's order quashing the ban imposed by some states. It is instead a contempt plea against Karni Sena for the violence it has unleashed and against the state governments of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana for not reining in the protestors, despite the court's order to maintain law and order.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s movie has attracted two more petitions in the Supreme Court that will be heard on Monday. This time the petition is not for a review of the Apex Court’s order quashing the ban imposed by some states. It is instead a contempt plea against Karni Sena for the violence it has unleashed and against the state governments of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana for not reining in the protestors, despite the court’s order to maintain law and order.
The Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra listed the petitions for hearing on Monday on the lawyers separately mentioning them in the morning. One petition is by social activist Tehseen Poonawala and the other by Mumbai lawyer Vineet Dhanda.
Both have cited the state governments’ mute response to destruction of public property, including the attack on a school bus of kindergarten kids. Advocate Dhanda has sought initiation of contempt proceedings against Shri Rajput Karni Sena founder Lokendra Singh Kalvi, its national president Suraj Pal and member Karam Singh.
He and Poonawala have questioned the lack of preventive measures by the states which gave the protestors a free hand to indulge in violence; this amounts to contempt of the apex court’s January 18 order, wherein it said that the State is obliged to protect the fundamental right of free speech and creative rights.
The court subsequently refused the Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh governments’’ applications to recall its order, saying a mob cannot take to the streets to choke free speech. The court said that if the States capitulated to mobs now, they would make a “virtue out of creating trouble.”
The court had observed that the grant of certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification under the Cinematograph Act denudes the States of any power to exercise prohibition of exhibition of a film.
Gujarat and Rajasthan had issued notifications on January 5 and 17, respectively, prohibiting the screening of Padmaavat. Haryana had, in principle, agreed to a ban on its exhibition. Madhya Pradesh had made statements that they intend to ban the screening of the movie in theatres.
Meanwhile, there was no let-up in protests in Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. In Udaipur, miscreants tried to force shops to shut down. One protester tried to immolate himself. In Rishikesh, there were reports of protesters clashing with the police outside a movie hall. The only arrests were those of 18 people allegedly involved in Wednesday’s attack on a school bus in Gurgaon, which triggered a national outrage.
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, who is in Davos for the annual meeting of the World Economic Summit, condemned the school bus attack. He, however, said, “There are also incidents which are being blown out of proportion”.
Sources in the home ministry said law and order is a state subject and “they should be able to tackle the issue at their end”. No state has asked for paramilitary forces. “Some asked for Rapid Action Force which was stationed in states. We allowed them to use them,” an official said.