Supreme court of India on 25.5.2009 dismissed as withdrawn the writ petition filed by Bollywood Director Ram Gopal Varma in which he had challenged the decision of Censor Board to not to grant Certificate to exhibit his forthcoming movie RANN. The Censor Board had raised objections that in the said movie, the national anthem of India has been materially tinkered with, which is not permissible under law. The Court asked him to approach the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal for relief. THe Court directed the Tribunal to decide the matter in one month. The Court made it clear that Mr. Ram Gopal Verma could approach the Supreme Court again, if he was not satisfied with the tribunal’s decision. The decision was given by a vacation Bench comprising of Justice V.S. Sirpurkar and Justice R.M. Lodha.
Justice Sirpurkar told senior counsel Arun Jaitley (who appeared for Ramgopal Varma): “We have read it. It [the national anthem] has been distorted, and it gives a totally negative sense. It seems every line of the national anthem has been filmed wrong. Nobody has any right to tinker with the national anthem. You go to the tribunal.”
In his petition, Mr. Verma said: “This song is part of a promotional film, which was submitted for certification to the Board for release on May 6. The Central Board of Film Certification, through the impugned order of May 8, has denied certification.”
He said the petition raised important questions of law: whether the impugned order takes a narrow, constricted and perverse ground of alleged distortion of the national anthem in the petitioner’s promo/song, more so when flags of such political parties as the Indian National Congress, the Trinamool Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party are tricolour and can be said to be distortion of the national flag?; can a song be composed in a respectful manner with the words of the national song, ‘Vande Maa Taram’ or the national anthem?; can there be a flag with the same colours as the national flag, but having other symbols in place of the Ashoka Chakra at the centre?; and can a citizen be prohibited from using the national symbol/anthem/song for artistic expression in a respectful manner?
He sought the order quashed and a directive to grant certification for the film.
(I will post the Text of the Order shortly).
Sunil Goel advocate
