Approach appropriate authority, Supreme Court tells Brahman Samaj for its plea on movie Article 15

The Supreme Court today refused to entertain the petition filed by the Brahman Samaj of India seeking directions to change the title of the film Article 15..The Bench of Justices SA Bobde and BR Gavai asked the petitioner to approach the “appropriate authority under the Act” and therefore, allowed the petitioner to withdraw the petition..The petition filed through Advocates Arvind Kumar Tiwary and Ranjan Dwivedi, contends that the title of the film is a misuse of the freedom of expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India and is in violation of Section 3 of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950..The petition states that if the film is released with this title, it will cause damage to the public perception regarding Article 15 of the Constitution. It is submitted in the petition,.“The release of the film is likely to cause severe damage about the public perception about Article 15 of the Constitution of India and its origin, and may lead a trend in the film industries by naming title of any feature film in the name of different Articles of the Constitution of India, which lead to a great difference between ‘what is written in the Constitution and what is shown in the film’, and the public perception may lead to public disorder, incitement to offence, among different castes against each other. (sic)”.The organization goes on to submit that using Articles of the Constitution as a title for a feature film without prior permission from the Government of India is illegal..The organisation also assailed the film as being objectionable for spreading caste hatred. According to the Brahman Samaj, the film Article 15, which is claimed to be based on true incidents, is a false and inaccurate depiction of a story..“Contents of the film ‘Article 15’ shows various objectionable dialogues spreading rumour and caste hatredness in the society based on a false/incorrect and concocted story depicting in the name and background of true criminal incidents, which remarkably violates and diminish the true spirit of Article 15 and 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India.(sic)”.The matter was mentioned for urgent hearing on June 27, just one day before the scheduled release of the film. However, the Vacation Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and BR Gavai refused to hear the matter on an urgent basis..The film was released on schedule and is being exhibited in theatres..[Read Order].Image taken from here..Bar & Bench is available on WhatsApp. For real-time updates on stories, click here to subscribe to our WhatsApp.