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Delhi HC Declines to Halt Udaipur Files Release Despite Fair Trial Concerns

Delhi High Court Udaipur Files

The Delhi High Court has refused to stop the release of the film Udaipur Files, which is based on the 2022 murder of Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal. The decision came after one of the accused in the case, Mohammed Javed, asked the court to halt the release, claiming it would harm his right to a fair trial. The film is scheduled to release on Friday as planned.

In its order on Thursday, a bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said Javed had not shown that releasing the movie would cause him “irreparable harm.”

Javed’s lawyer, senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, argued that the court should first watch the film to decide if it contained hate speech and noted that some of the dialogues were taken directly from the chargesheet in the ongoing case. She warned that allowing the release could set a precedent where “no accused in this country will have a right to fair trial.”

The court, however, found no strong reason to stay the release and noted that the film’s producer had invested his life’s savings into it, making the “balance of convenience” tilt in the producer’s favour. The judges also said a trained trial judge would be able to conduct the case “uninfluenced by the film.”

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) confirmed that the movie went through 61 cuts — 55 suggested by the CBFC and more done voluntarily by the producer.

The court has issued a notice in Javed’s main petition challenging the screening of the film entirely, which will be heard next on October 16.

In July, Maulana Arshad Madani, head of Darul Uloom Deoband, also filed a public interest petition, alleging the movie contained scenes and dialogues that could disturb communal harmony.

Before the court’s verdict, producer Amit Jani spoke at a special screening in Delhi. Referring to Madani, he said, “The stain on his face for supporting terrorism — our film shows that in the mirror. Those who don’t want to see the truth want to break that mirror. If you don’t want to see your face in the mirror, step aside, but why break it? Anyway, it is haram for you to watch films.”

He claimed he and his team had received threats and that his children had not gone to school for months.

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