The Supreme Court on Friday stayed pending proceedings in various high courts across the country against the controversial movie Adipurush.
The top court said that cinematographic representations may not be an exact replica of religious texts and that artistic freedom must be balanced with limits as per the norms of the CBFC.
A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu also declined to entertain a PIL by advocate Mamta Rani seeking an order to revoke the certificate issued by the Central Board of Film Certification to the feature film for hurting the sentiments of the Hindu community.
"Everybody now is touchy about everything. The level of tolerance for films, books, and paintings keeps on getting down. Now people are hurt maybe sometimes genuinely, maybe sometimes not," the bench said.
The court said it is not appropriate for the apex court to interfere with certificates, granted to the film, on the basis of the sensitivity of individuals.
The movie has come under attack for its dialogues and use of colloquial language.
A plea was also filed separately before the top court by the production company behind the movie, challenging orders and proceedings in different high courts.
On June 30, the Allahabad High Court had told the central government to form a committee to give its views on the film. The high court passed the direction while hearing petitions seeking a ban on the movie.
It had also ordered film director Om Raut, producer Bhushan Kumar, and dialogue writer Manoj Muntashir to appear before it on July 27.
Published 21 July 2023, 10:01 IST
