Emergency release will be delayed as Bombay High Court refuses to order immediate release of CBFC certificate

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday declined to order the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to immediately release the censor certificate for Kangana Ranaut-starrer film 'Emergency' [Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. v. CBFC]..A Bench of Justices BP Colabawalla and Justice Firdosh P Pooniwalla noted that the Central government had yesterday told the Madhya Pradesh High Court in a related case, that the film was not yet been finally certified and that it was still under examination under the Cinematograph Act and Rules.The Madhya Pradesh High Court had in that order directed the CBFC to consider any objections raised with regard to the film and then decide on its certification. This ruling also meant that the movie's release would be further delayed beyond the September 6 (Friday) date for which it had been scheduled..The movie's producers today argued that the Madhya Pradesh High Court order would not be breached if the CBFC is merely asked to release a physical copy of the film's censor certificate. However, the Bombay High Court Bench was not entirely convinced by this submission and, therefore, declined to pass any such order. "(It is argued that) there would be no impediment for this court in directing the release certificate issued on 29th August. Though there may be some substance in the argument we are unable to pass this direction in light of the fact that the Madhya Pradesh High Court has specifically directed CBFC to consider representations of (petitioners before the Madhya Pradesh High Court). If we issue the direction ... we will be effectively breaching the order. Judicial proprietary demands (that no such order is passed) ... As on date, we are unable to direct CBFC to issue the certificate sought by the petitioner (film's producers)," the Court said. .The Court, however, clarified that it is not disposing of the petition and asked the CBFC to finish considering any objections raised against the film by September 18. It added that the CBFC cannot cite the upcoming Ganpati festival as a ground to not work and further delay this process. The Court also asked the CBFC to bear in mind the fact that a lot of money is invested in a film project and hence, there should not be undue delay in granting censor certificates.This was after after film certification body urged the Bench against setting any timeline to complete the certification process for 'Emergency.'"There is something going behind the curtains ...," the Court added. The matter will be heard next on September 19. .'Emergency' is a biographical political drama set against the backdrop of the 1975 national emergency in India. The film's trailer, released on August 14, garnered significant attention, amassing nearly 300,000 views on YouTube.However, the trailer sparked controversy, leading to public interest litigations before the High Courts of Madhya Pradesh and Punjab, which sought to halt the film's release on grounds that it purportedly misrepresents the Sikh community.The MP High Court refused to pass any order against the movie but asked the CBFC to consider the objections of the Sikh petitioners before taking a call on grant of certificate. Meanwhile, Zee Studios, the co-producers of the film, approached the Bombay High Court on Tuesday seeking an official copy of the film’s certification from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). In its plea, Zee claimed that despite being via online mode of the film’s certification on August 29, the CBFC was yet to provide a formal physical certification document. With 'Emergency' scheduled for release on September 6, Zee Studios had requested urgent judicial intervention, which the Court refused to do today. .Senior Advocate Venkatesh Dhond represented Zee before the High Court. Advocate Abhinav Chandrachud appeared for the CBFC..[Read Live Coverage]