Udaipur files: No written orders, only refused urgent listing of plea, SC clarifies

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday clarified it did not pass any written order when it refused to urgently list the plea against the screening of the movie "Udaipur Files: Kanhaiya Lal tailor murder".

The clarification from a bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi came after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the accused Mohammed Javed, said a confusion arose due to the bench's remark, "Let the film be released".

After Sibal sought the clarification, the bench said it had indeed made the observation but no written order was passed and the court simply denied the request for urgent listing.

Sibal said due to the scheduled release of the film on July 11, the trial of the accused would get prejudiced.

He informed the bench about moving the Delhi High Court, which asked him to seek the clarification on the July 9 order.

"The petition has not been heard and the oral observation of the court has created a confusion," he submitted.

While Justice Bagchi opined the film should not be shown, Justice Dhulia said the court had only said it was not giving an urgent hearing, stressing that there should not be any confusion.

On July 9, the top court refused to urgently list the plea against the screening of the movie and said, "Let the film be released".

The remarks were made by the bench after a counsel appearing for one of the accused in the murder case said the film's release would prejudice the trial in the matter.

The counsel said the film would be released on July 11 and its producers had put out trailers of the movie which raised an apprehension that it would affect the trial in the case and violate the accused's right to fair trial.

"Let the film be released. You mention the plea before the regular bench upon reopening (of the court after summer vacation)," the bench said.

The petition was filed by Mohammed Javed, who is facing trial as the eighth accused in the case and sought a stay on the film's release till the trial in the case was over.

The petitioner contended the film appeared to be "communally provocative" from its trailer and promotional materials, and releasing the movie at this juncture, portraying the accused as guilty and the story as conclusively true, has the potential to seriously prejudice the ongoing proceedings.

Kanhaiya Lal, an Udaipur-based tailor in Rajasthan, was murdered in June 2022, allegedly by Mohammad Riyaz and Mohammad Ghous as an outcome of hate crime.

The assailants had later released a video claiming the murder was in reaction to the tailor allegedly sharing a social media post in support of former BJP leader Nupur Sharma after her controversial comments on Prophet Muhammad.

The case was probed by the National Investigation Agency and the accused were booked under stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), besides provisions under the Indian Penal Code.

The trial is pending before the special NIA court in Jaipur.