Plea in HC to postpone release of film on Batla House encounter

An accused in the Batla House encounter case moved the Delhi High Court on Friday to postpone the release of a film made on the incident, saying it would adversely affect his trial which is going on in a lower court.

The petition came up for hearing before Justice Vibhu Bakhru, who ordered a special screening in the high court on Monday to ascertain whether the film titled "Batla House" and starring John Abraham would in any manner affect the trial of accused Ariz Khan, also known as Junaid.

Apart from him, Shahzad Ahmed, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment in the case and who has challenged the verdict in the high court, is also a petitioner in the matter.

Ahmed, whose appeal against his conviction and sentence is pending in the high court, has contended that the film would affect the adjudication of his appeal and his trial in the case pertaining to the serial bomb blasts in Delhi on September 13, 2008.

Khan is also an accused in the blasts case.

The petition claims that the film, scheduled to be released on August 15, shows a link between the bomb blasts and the encounter and would therefore, prejudicially affect the trial in both the cases.

It also alleges that the posters and trailers of the film depict the petitioners as terrorists and guilty of the crimes they are accused of, even before the trial court has pronounced its verdict in the blasts case and the encounter case against Khan.

The encounter took place on September 19, 2008, when a team of the Delhi Police Special Cell raided a Batla House flat in south Delhi's Jamia Nagar, following a tip-off that terrorists allegedly involved in the September 13, 2008 serial blasts in the national capital were holed up there.

During the raid, a decorated police officer -- Inspector M C Sharma -- was killed.