Release of 'Batla House' to be postponed if found 'propensity' to affect trial in case: HC

The Delhi High Court on Thursday said the release of film "Batla House" will be put on hold if found that it has the "propensity" to affect the ongoing proceedings in the encounter and the 2008 serial blasts cases.

Justice Vibhu Bakhru said the movie does not purport to be a work of fiction but a film based on police files about the two cases and therefore the filmmakers cannot say that it was not based on the encounter.

Ariz Khan, an accused in the Batla House encounter case, moved the high court on Friday to postpone the release of the John Abraham starrer, saying it would adversely affect his trial which is going on in a lower court.

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

Both are also facing trial in connection with the serial bomb blasts in Delhi in September 2008.

The producers of the movie, however, claimed that it is an "unsubstantiated apprehension" of the petitioners that it is them in the film.

The court did not appear to agree with the contention, saying characters in the film do purport to be persons in the two cases.