The Supreme Court has upheld the decision of the poll panel to prevent the
release of the biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the entire voting process is completed on May 19.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, while dismissing the plea by the producer of film that has Vivek Oberoi in the lead role, observed, “We are not inclined to interfere”.
The poll panel had on April 10 stopped the release of the biopic on the ground that it would violate the model code of conduct that came into
effect from March 10, the day the dates of the general election 2019
was announced. The poll panel had said that the film’s release would tilt the balance in favour of a particular political party.
The producers of the film had then moved the apex court against the EC order arguing that the film had been cleared by the Censor Board. In his argument senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the producers of the film, had said that the poll panel took the decision after watching a two-minute trailer and not the entire film.
In response, Amit Sharma, the Election Commission’s counsel had said that the entire film was not available to the poll panel. To this the Supreme Court on April 15 had asked the poll panel to watch the entire film and take an informed decision. The apex court also asked the poll panel to submit a detailed report after watching the film and to give the film’s producer a copy of the report.
The 20-page report said that the film has so eulogised Narendra Modi that it has become “more than biography, it is hagiography”. A hagiography treats the subjects with undue reverence, taking them to the level of saints. The report was of the opinion that the “uni-dimensional” film has made a larger-than-life image of the prime minister and also has belittled several Opposition leaders.
Major political parties, including the Left and the Congress had sought ban on the release of the film on or before May 19, the last day of the seven-phase election in the country.
