EC Will Deal With Biopic On PM Narendra Modi, Says Bombay HC; Refuses To Stay Release

A division bench of Chief Justice NH Patil and Justice NM Jamdar was hearing a PIL filed Satish Sugriv Gaikwad, president of the Republican Party of India (I), seeking a stay on the release of the film alleging violation of Model Code of Conduct enforced by the Election Commission of India (ECI) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Earlier, the court had issued a notice to ECI seeking a reply to averments in the PIL. It was submitted on behalf of the ECI that notice has already been issued to the filmmakers

According to the petitioner, the movie which is set to release this April 5, violates the model code of conduct imposed by the Election Commission of India all over the country, including union territories, in a notification dated March 10, 2019.

The PIL stated: "In the guise of the movie, surrogate advertising of sitting Prime Minister is sought, with a motive to circumvent the Model Code of Conduct."

The petitioner had sought directions to remove the trailer of the film from all social media platforms. However, Advait Sethna, who appeared for the CBFC, submitted that the requisite certification for the movie's trailer has already been granted by the CBFC. Further, the movie is scheduled to be examined for certification on April 3 and would be cleared for release if it meets the requisite criteria.

Appearing on behalf of the producers of the film, Dr. Birendra Saraf argued that several biopics/films based on the life of political leaders have been released in the past, thus, it is not a case of violation of the model code of conduct.

Thus, the court noted-

"The Election Commission has already taken note of it and shall deal with it."