Appeal filed in SC challenging Delhi HC order of dismissing PIL against 'The Accidental Prime Minister'

Hours after the Delhi High Court has dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a ban on release of trailer and film of Anupam Kher starrer 'The Accidental Prime Minister', an appeal has been filed in the Supreme Court against the order.

The matter is likely to be mentioned before a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi on Thursday for urgent hearing of the appeal.

Earlier in the day the Delhi High Court had dismissed the PIL and questioned the locus of the petitioner, Pooja Mahajan.

In the appeal Mahajan has sought stay of the release of trailer and film of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's biopic, stating that it features an incorrect representation of the facts to malign Singh's image.

Dr. Manmohan Singh enjoys a national and international repute in the public at large as being the Prime Minister of India from 2004-14, said the appeal, adding that film makers, producers have made an attempt to make commercial gains and the act of "impersonation" have been committed deliberately to defame the office of Prime Minister just to hype the excitement amongst the prospective viewers.

"Dr. Manmohan Singh and the other living political personalities who have been depicted in this film, have not given their consent to portray them in this film. Hence, the release of the film amounts to serious invasion of their privacy," the appeal stated.

The recently released trailer of 'The Accidental Prime Minister' also drew a lot of flak from the Congress party.

The film is based on facts chronicled in a book by Sanjaya Baru-- Manmohan Singh's media Advicer between 2004 and 2008. It revolves around Singh's life, the economist and politician who served as the Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014 under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.