Calcutta High Court dismisses petition seeking stay on release of 'The Bengal Files'

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by the grandson of Gopal Chandra Mukherjee, seeking a stay on the release of the film, 'The Bengal Files', alleging that the protagonist was depicted in a poor light in the movie.

Holding that the petition is not maintainable, Justice Amrita Sinha dismissed the petition.

The movie is based on the communal riots of August 1946 in Kolkata, known as the ‘Great Calcutta Killings’.

The petitioner's lawyer submitted before the court that Santanu Mukherjee, grandson of Gopal Chandra Mukherjee, had filed an RTI application to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), questioning its role in assessing how his grandfather was portrayed in the film.

He contended that despite the expiry of the mandated period, the requested information was not furnished.

The CBFC’s counsel said no appeal against the film’s release had been filed by the petitioner within the stipulated time after receiving no RTI response.

Counsel for one of the respondents added that since the film was already being screened across the country, the petition had become infructuous.

Hearing all sides, Justice Sinha observed that the petitioner ought to avail the remedy prescribed under the RTI Act and declined to entertain the writ petition.

In his plea, Santanu Mukherjee claimed that his grandfather, a freedom fighter who ran a goat meat shop in Bowbazar in the 1940s, was wrongly depicted in the film.

Producing a photograph, he alleged that the film insultingly refers to Gopal Chandra Mukherjee as "Patha" (a Bengali word for goat).

He further argued that the movie falsely portrays his grandfather as being involved in the events of August 16, 1946.