New Delhi: The Supreme Court agreed to hear Tuesday an Odisha government plea challenging the release of animated film Mahaprabhu Jagannath after it was granted screening clearance by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
The plea was mentioned before the bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Vikram Nath and Justice B V Nagarathna, which agreed to hear the matter Tuesday.
Advocate General for Odisha, Pitambar Acharya, mentioned the plea before the bench and said the matter is a “little sensitive”, asking for urgent listing.
“The matter is a little sensitive, there is an animated movie of Lord Shri Jagannath which is being telecast in a Cartoon Network POGO channel…the main writ petition is pending before the High Court challenging the certificate granted by CBFC. We have filed a plea by the Jagannath temple committee. It is a disposed of matter before Justices Nagarathna and Mahadevan,” the AG told the court.
He also informed the court that the release of movie could cause a law and order situation in the state.
“May I pray it be listed tomorrow…the Jagannath committee has also moved the Centre for revocation of certificate,” he said.
Earlier, a bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan permitted the all-India release of the animated film on or after July 28 post Lord Jagannath Yatra festivities.
The bench had noted that the animated movie was based on a web series already released on YouTube, and that the CBFC had granted clearance for its screening.
The bench, however, asked not to release the movie during Rath Yatra festivities.
Senior advocate Devadatt Kamat, appearing for the film producers, had contended that crores of rupees have been invested and theatres were booked and they would suffer enormous loss if the film is not released during the 10-day festivities.
He said the CBFC has cleared the film, which is meant for children and is pure fiction like an animated film on Bal Ganesh.
The bench had disposed of the petition filed by producers against the high court order.
The high court had observed that the objections raised over its portrayal of Lord Jagannath require detailed judicial scrutiny before the film can be exhibited.
The high court bench had passed the interim order while hearing a public interest litigation filed by Mahesh Kumar Sahu of Angul, along with Dr Pramod Kumar Acharya of Puri and Umashankar Acharya of Nimapada.
The petition sought cancellation of the film’s certification by the CBFC and a direction restraining its public screening in Odisha.
The petition objected to the fictional depiction of Lord Jagannath’s childhood, dialogue, and battle sequences, contending that they were contrary to the Skanda Purana, Brahma Purana and long-standing temple traditions.
