PIL against 'Shorgul' dismissed, film to release on June 24

A PIL filed by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Milan Som against the film "Shorgul" has been dismissed by the Allahabad High Court bench in Lucknow, a representative of the movie's makers said.

Milan Som had filed a public interest litigation against the film's makers on June 2, alleging that it featured characters inspired by BJP legislator Sangeet Som, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and state cabinet minister Azam Khan.

The allegations were dismissed by the court on June 6, read a statement shared by the representative of the film's makers.

"Shorgul", co-directed by Jitendra Tiwari and P. Singh, is set against the backdrop of Uttar Pradesh. It touches upon intolerance and the cacophony created by religious, social, political and economic prejudices.

The division bench of Justice Narain Shukla and Justice Rakesh Srivastva passed the order that the petitioner may move the competent authority to examine the matter further.

The court said it had gone through the relevant provisions of the Cinematograph Act and found that the central government was vested with the power to suspend exhibition of a film in certain cases on being satisfied with the terms and conditions laid down therein. Thereafter, it passed the order dismissing the PIL.

"The court has declined the petition, refusing to give a stay on the film and stated that the decision of the censor board on the matter shall be final. We welcome the court's decision and are going ahead with our release as planned on June 24."

"The censor board has already cleared the film with a U/A certification, and we respect their judgment," said Swatantra Vijay Singh, producer of "Shorgul".

"Shorgul" features actors Jimmy Sheirgill, Ashutosh Rana, Sanjay Suri, Hiten Tejwani and Eijaz Khan.

--IANS

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