Makers Of Jaswant Singh Khalra Biopic Move Bombay High Court Against CBFC's Order For 21 Cuts

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday adjourned to July 14, a plea challenging the 21 cuts and modifications as pre-conditions by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) while certifying the biopic on prominent human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra.

Khalra was instrumental in exposing the Punjab police’s brutality in the aftermath of then prime minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984, when Punjab was in a state of insurgency. The movie is directed by Honey Trehan with actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh in the lead.

The plea filed by producer Ronnie Screwvala’s RSVP Movies (Unilazer Ventures) under Section 5C of the Cinematograph Act, challenges the cuts as being violative of Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India. The plea further states that the prescribed cuts fall outside the scope of Section 5B of the Cinematograph Act.

The film was initially submitted to the CBFC for certification in December 2022. However, as per the petitioners certification was severely delayed and even after three months, there was no response from CBFC. Following this Unilazer Ventures approached Bombay High Court through Naik Naik & Co in May 2023, seeking directions to CBFC to decide the application.

During the hearing, CBFC stated that a decision regarding certification of the film would be received by 26^th May. Accordingly, the CBFC granted an “A” certificate to the Film with 21 cuts.

CBFC claimed that certain parts of the film and dialogues are provocative, communal, incite violence, may potentially radicalize Sikh youth, affect the integrity, and sovereignty of India, and its friendly relations with foreign states. The petitioners stated that CBFC directed the removal of some dialogues and the disclaimer of the film.

In their plea before the High Court, the petitioners claimed broadly whatever had been depicted in the film had occurred in Punjab during those troubled years (1984-1995) and is based on facts which have been researched, well documented and published in newspaper articles, books as well as Judgments of the Supreme Court of India.

“Pertinently, it is not even the case of the CBFC that there is any factual or historical inaccuracy in depiction of various events in the film,” the Petitioners said.

After Operation Blue Star, the assassination of Indira Gandhi, and the 1984 anti-sikh riots, the police were empowered to detain anyone who was suspected to be a terrorist. The Punjab police was accused of killing unarmed people in staged shootouts, and burning thousands of dead bodies to cover up the murders.

Jaswant Singh Khalra was the director of a bank in Amritsar during the militancy period in Punjab. He found evidence of abduction, elimination and cremation of thousands of unidentified bodies by the police. The police apparently killed several thousands of their own officers who refused to collaborate in these extra judicial operations.

Khalra's findings led to world-wide protests and also led to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) concluding that the Punjab police had illegally cremated 2,097 people in the Tarn Taran district of Punjab alone. The Supreme Court and National Human Rights Commission also acted on his data.

However on September 6, 1995, Khalra disappeared and a case of murder, abduction and criminal conspiracy was registered on his wife’s complaint. In October the Punjab and Haryana High Court changed the sentences of the four accused, former head constable Prithipal Singh and former sub-inspectors Satnam Singh, Surinder Pal Singh and Jasbir Singh from seven years to life imprisonment.

Advocate Ameet Naik and Madhu Gadodia are leading the producer’s legal team.