Mahaprabhu Jagannath banned a day before release, makers approach Supreme Court

Summary

The makers of the animated film Mahaprabhu Jagannath have approached the Supreme Court against an Orissa High Court order that has halted the film's release across the country, just a day before it was due to hit screens on July 17. According to a report by LiveLaw.com , Senior Advocate Devadatt Kamat made an urgent mention before the Chief Justice of India, seeking a hearing on the same day. The Chief Justice turned down a same-day listing but agreed the matter would be taken up the following day, coinciding with the film's original release date. Kamat told the court that Mahaprabhu Jagannath is an animated feature on Lord Jagannath made for children, and that the High Court had stopped its release on the grounds that it did not align with the Skanda Purana. He pointed out that the Central Board of Film Certification had already cleared the film and granted it a certificate under Section 5 of the Cinematograph Act. He said the High Court's order had been uploaded only at 9 pm the previous day, and argued that the ban would cause serious prejudice and hardship to the producer, who had invested crores of rupees in the project. He said more than 300 theatres had been booked for the screening of the film and pressed for an immediate hearing. He further submitted that the public interest litigation in the High Court had been taken up just before the release and that the High Court had passed a hasty order banning the film pan-India. The challenge before the Supreme Court comes after the Orissa High Court on July 15 restrained the release of Mahaprabhu Jagannath , observing that while freedom of speech and expression is protected under the Constitution, it cannot be allowed to shatter religious sentiments in a manner that leads to unrest in society. According to the petition, the film misrepresents the culture, rituals, traditions and devotional history associated with Lord Jagannath by showing fictional childhood episodes, personal adventures and battle sequences involving the deity, depicting Lord Jagannath speaking and behaving in an invented manner, and including narratives allegedly contrary to the 'Skanda Purana', the 'Brahma Purana' and long-established temple traditions.