The Vacation Bench of the Bombay High Court on Tuesday refused to grant urgent relief to former Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chief Pahlaj Nihalani against the 20 cuts suggested by the body in his upcoming movie Rangeela Raja, starring actor Govinda.
Justice Riyaz Chagla was hearing a petition filed by Mr. Nihalani stating that the body has not followed the procedure in suggesting the cuts. The petition read, “As per the norms and rules and regulations framed by CBFC, the body is required to see the screening of the movie within a period of 21 days from the date of submission. But instead of screening the film within the period, the officers have taken as many as 40 days for screening the film, which has been done with malafide intentions.”
Advocate Ashok Saraogi, appearing for Mr. Nihalani, argued he had the right to approach the High Court before going to the review committee. Advocate Advaith Sethna, appearing for the CBFC, said, “The scenes clearly fall within ‘Adult’ category and they want a ‘U/A’ certificate for the film. He is a former chairman of the CBFC, he knows all the procedures, yet no review has been filed before approaching the High Court.”
He added, “A false statement is made that the chairman was not available due to Diwali vacations. He was available, he has hundreds of certifications to grant, he can’t afford the luxury of a vacation. It is very sad that political motives have been attributed to the chairman.”
The court said, “You have not exhausted all your options. You could have filed a review before the revising committee or appealed before the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal, you had time after the examining committee passed its order on November 2. In regular court too, I would have dismissed this petition because you have other remedies available. The vacation board does not feel there is any urgency in this matter. You file it before the regular court.” The matter will now be heard on November 19.