Laywers see red, HC refuses to stop Jolly LLB's release

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to stay the release of Jolly LLB on a plea by a group of lawyers, who alleged it is defamatory and amounts to contempt of court.

The comedy drama starring Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani is scheduled to be screened from March 15.

The plea sought cancellation of certification granted for its release.A bench of Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice V K Jain said, “It is only a trailer and at this stage it is difficult for us to find out in what context it was said.” The court then reserved its final order.

The court was hearing a PIL filed by group of lawyers alleging that the scenes in the film undermine the dignity of the court.

Contempt of court

The lawyers in their plea, filed through their counsel Jaideep Mallik and Birender Sangwan, said, “The film contains scenes showing totally disgraceful act in court proceedings and the dignity of the court has been shown in a defamatory manner, thus the certification granted to the film is liable to be withdrawn or quashed.”

Appearing for production house Fox Star Studio India Pvt Ltd, which produced the film, senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul said the scenes in the movie are creative expression of the filmmaker and also a depiction of day-to-day happenings. He said the trailer of the movie has been on air since January 2013, and the petitioners have approached the court just a few days before the film’s release.

“This is a blackmail tactic,” said the counsel, and asked the court to reject the plea.
The petitioners said the contents of the trailer are also defamatory to lawyers who have passed from Meerut University.