HC: Clearance renewal only after public hearing

KOLKATA: The writ petition filed by director Milan Bhowmick at Calcutta High Court was taken up for hearing on Wednesday by Justice Shampa Sarkar. The petition had sought the release of Bhowmick’s SP Mookherjee film titled ‘Danga The Riot’ without any infringement on his freedom of expression. The film casts Gajendra Chauhan as Syama Prasad Mookerjee and Supriya Devi as his mother.


Advocate Subrata Mukhopadhyay, who represented Bhowmick, said, “As per Article 19 of the Indian Constitution, no one is entitled to impose unreasonable restriction upon a school of thought of any person, including a producer or director. I had highlighted that very recently, the restriction on ‘Padmaavat’ was criticised by Supreme Court. It held that the law and order are to be maintained by the state when a film gets an NOC from Central Board of Film Certification.”

According to the director, “The sub-divisional magistrate of Uluberia had issued written orders restricting public exhibition of the film in theatres and by cable operators. The order, passed under Section 144 (2) of CRFC, was passed on April 27.”

After Wednesday’s hearing, Mukhopadhyay said, “The verdict mentioned that except Uluberia sub-division, ‘Danga The Riot’ can be released in any corner of the state. The court has asked the government to file the opposition within a week after vacation, after which the legal validity of the sub-divisional magistrate’s order will be examined.”