Delhi High Court Dismisses The Plea To Ban The Accidental Prime Minister’s Trailer
Ever since the trailer of the film – The Accidental Prime Minister has surfaced in the media, it has been opposed by the political parties and individuals subscribing these groups. People from these groups have even laid down a public suit at the Delhi High Court to ban the trailer and even the screening of the movie. It was Justice Vibhu Bakhru who heard the plea of a Delhi-based fashion designer known as Pooja Mahajan, while she said she has no personal interest in filing the PIL against the film. She presented the case seeking the help of Arun Maitri, the senior counsel and said that the trailer of the movie has violated the 416 Section of the IPC.
The said section deals with the impersonation of a living character/living people which is not permissible in law. The movie is based on Sanjaya Baru’s book with the same title. He was the media advisor of Dr. Singh during his tenure as the PM of India. Anupam Kher is playing the role of Dr. Singh, while Akshay Khanna would be playing the character of Baru who has remained the media advisor of Dr. Singh. Now, talking about the case, the lawyer claimed that the makers have not taken any permission from Dr. Singh or Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for performing the characters in the film. He also alleged that the actors have simply copied their dresses and mannerism without seeking any consent of the said people.
As per the guidelines of the Central Board of Film Certification, if the films are based on real-life characters, then the makers are supposed to take a NOC or the ‘no objection certificate to make the film. They released the trailer with no NOC claimed the petitioner. The plea also requested the Delhi HC to direct the online platforms like YouTube and other media groups to stop the screening of the trailer. However, the court has dismissed all the objections laid down by Mahajan with her senior lawyer. This clearly indicates that the court does not find the objection as valid enough to consider it.
