India News

Freedom of expression applies to films too: Madras HC on Mersal row

Published

8 years ago

October 27, 2017

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Madras high court dismissed a PIL that had sought revocation of censor certificate for the film that had mocked the Goods and Services Tax regime

In a major relief to the controversy-embroiled Tamil blockbuster Mersal, the Madras High Court, on Friday, dismissed a public interest litigation that had sought directions to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to revoke the censor certificate issued to the movie for its “anti GST” dialogues and held that “freedom of expression…applies to films as well”.

A Bench of Justices MM. Sundresh and M Sundar refused to entertain the PIL filed by Chennai-based lawyer A Ashvathaman on the ground that in a mature democracy, the voices of the minority cannot be stifled. The judges said that it was ultimately for the viewers to take a call on the contents of a movie.

Ashvathaman had, during arguments in the case, asked the court to revoke the censor certificate issued to Mersal while questioning how the film certification board had cleared the movie for public exhibition “even though the film was full of wrong propaganda about the country and contained fake dialogues and scenes which would lead to misconception about our new taxation system.”

“The story of the film does not demand the above said scenes and dialogues which contained fake and fabricated particulars… The CBFC is duty-bound to see that the young and impressionable minds are guarded against subtle machinations of pseudo artists and producers as the youngsters try to emulate what they have seen in the movies,” the petitioner had argued.

However, the court took a dim view of Ashvathaman’s contention and noted: “if the petitioner was really concerned about the public and society then he would have tackled issues such as untouchability and women’s safety. Instead the petitioner chose to go after a movie.”

The Bench, in its order, said: “Why was there no complaint against smoking and drinking in films or about the projection of LGBT? A film is only an imaginative story and it is not real life. If someone doesn’t like a film, a person can refrain from viewing it.”

While the petitioner had argued that the film was “spreading propaganda” about a decision taken by the Centre, the court reportedly noted that Opposition leaders till date were criticising demonetisation, the controversial decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8, 2016 which had flushed out 86 per cent of the currency in circulation from the economy. The court asked whether people should be gagged for expressing their views.

Referring to the Opposition’s ongoing criticism of demonetisation and juxtaposing it with Mersal’s anti-GST dialogues, the Bench said: “Can the court pass a gag order against him (an Opposition leader) from making such statements? This is democracy, and people have their right to freedom of expression, and this applies to films as well.”

Mersal, an Atlee Kumar directorial which stars Tamil actor Vijay, has been facing criticism from the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit for depicting scenes which criticize the GST regime as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India initiative.

The Madras High Court’s order came on a day when another row over the delay in the censor clearance for the Telugu version of the film was being attributed to alleged pressure from the BJP government at the Centre on the Censor board to ensure that the anti-GST references are omitted from the dubbed version of the movie.

However, soon after the Madras high court’s order, Censor board chief Prasoon Joshi declared that the movie’s Telugu version had been cleared “without cuts” even as he rued the fact that the reported delay in the dubbed version’s censor certification was being “unnecessarily sensationalized”.

“The process of approving a dubbed version of a film is the same as certifying a film for the first time. The CBFC website mentions very clearly how much time each part of the certification process takes. So far, the filmmakers had not received any communication about the Telugu certification, so how can they accuse us of delaying the release of their film? This is not done. The film certificate has been issued for the Telugu dubbed version without any cuts,” Joshi said on Friday.

The censor Board chief added: “I am surprised with the accusations on the CBFC for the delay. It’s a usual process which is getting unfairly and unnecessarily sensationalized”.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Related Topics:Delhi High Court Madras High Court Tamil Nadu

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Delhi-NCR sees second spell of rain and thunderstorms in four days

Delhi-NCR experienced another spell of rain and thunderstorms on March 18, with IMD forecasting more showers over the next few days.

Published

5 mins ago

March 18, 2026

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Delhi and parts of the National Capital Region witnessed another spell of rain, thunderstorms, and strong winds on Wednesday evening, marking the second such weather event in the past four days.

The sudden change brought relief from unusually high temperatures recorded earlier this month. According to officials, the temperature at Safdarjung — the city’s base weather station — was recorded at 24 degrees Celsius at 7 pm.

The India Meteorological Department had earlier issued an alert predicting light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning on March 18. Several areas across the capital experienced gusty winds along with brief but intense showers.

More rain likely over next two days

The weather department has forecast partly cloudy skies for March 19 and 20, with chances of light rain or thundershowers occurring once or twice during the day. On March 21, skies are expected to remain cloudy with the possibility of light showers continuing.

Conditions are likely to stabilise from March 23 onwards, with forecasts indicating a return to partly cloudy to clear skies across the region.

Weather activity across India to intensify

The IMD has also indicated widespread weather activity across multiple regions of the country in the coming days. Rainfall is expected to intensify in several states, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds.

In the northeastern region, heavy rainfall is likely over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Meghalaya during the early part of the week.

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India News

Centre pushes states to cut levies to boost PNG adoption

The Centre has asked states to reduce local levies and streamline approvals to accelerate PNG adoption and city gas infrastructure growth.

Published

2 hours ago

March 18, 2026

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The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has urged states and Union Territories to ease local levies and procedural barriers affecting City Gas Distribution (CGD) projects, in a bid to accelerate the adoption of piped natural gas (PNG) as a cleaner fuel alternative.

In a communication sent to Chief Secretaries, Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary Neeraj Mittal highlighted that high right-of-way charges, road cutting fees, lease rentals and other local levies imposed by urban bodies are discouraging investments in CGD infrastructure.

High costs slowing expansion

The ministry pointed out that the CGD sector, particularly PNG supply to households and commercial establishments, does not receive direct subsidies. As a result, it depends heavily on viable returns, which are being impacted by excessive and inconsistent local charges across states.

It noted that these financial and procedural hurdles are slowing down infrastructure expansion and affecting the broader adoption of natural gas.

Gap between connections and usage

According to the government, while around 12.63 crore PNG connections have been recorded, only about 1.6 crore are currently active. The ministry stressed that improving ease of doing business at state and local levels could help bridge this gap and expand the consumer base.

Officials believe that rationalising levies may initially reduce local revenues but could lead to higher long-term gains through increased gas consumption and economic activity.

LPG shortage adds urgency

The push for PNG adoption comes amid supply constraints in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), linked to ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Oil marketing companies are currently supplying only 20 per cent of normal commercial LPG demand to states.

To address this, the ministry has proposed increasing LPG allocation to 30 per cent for states that implement reforms supporting PNG and CGD expansion.

Reform-linked incentives for states

The Centre has suggested a set of measures that states can adopt to qualify for higher LPG allocations. These include:

Setting up empowered state and district-level committees for faster approvals
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Implementing a dig-and-restore model using bank guarantees instead of restoration charges
Eliminating annual rental or lease charges for CGD infrastructure

The ministry said compliance with these reforms would be verified before granting additional LPG allocations.

Industry support measures

The communication also noted that GAIL and its subsidiaries have already allocated full gas supply to the commercial PNG segment to support businesses affected by reduced LPG availability.

The government reiterated that expanding natural gas usage aligns with its broader push for cleaner and domestically sourced energy.

India News

BJP seals Assam seat-sharing pact, Modi to hold 3 rallies in April

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Published

3 hours ago

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The Bharatiya Janata Party has finalised its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections, firming up its strategy alongside National Democratic Alliance partners as campaigning gathers pace in the state.

Under the agreement, the BJP will contest 89 seats, while its allies — Asom Gana Parishad and Bodoland People’s Front — will field candidates in 26 and 11 constituencies respectively. The distribution has been decided after internal deliberations, with the focus now shifting to candidate announcements and campaign execution.

Campaign push led by top leadership

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also set to spearhead an extensive campaign across the state through March, aiming to energise party workers and strengthen voter outreach.

Candidate selection underway

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