Supreme Court upholds EC stay on Modi film till May 19

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday upheld an order passed by the Election Commission staying the release of the biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi till the completion of the Lok Sabha polls on May 19.

A three-judge bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta in a brief order said, “We are not inclined to interfere with the Commission’s order” and dismissed the petition filed by the producers of the film challenging the EC’s decision.

The biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a “hagiography”, starring actor Vivek Oberoi, which treats the subject with undue reverence, and its public screening during poll campaign will “tilt the electoral balance”, the Commission said in its report submitted to the apex court after watching the film.

The report said that the biopic “produces a political environment where an individual acquired cult status” and its public screening during the period when model code of conduct is in operation would favour a particular political party. The EC said “there are several scenes depicting a major opposition party as corrupt and showing them in poor light. Their leaders have been depicted in such a manner that their identification is clear and obvious to the viewers.”

It said that the biopic was more than a biography and was a “hagiography” (which treats the subject as saints and gives undue reverence) and the construct of the movie was “unabashedly uni-dimensional”, which puts an individual on a higher pedestal through use of specific symbols, slogans and scenes. It ends up eulogising an individual, giving him a saintly status.

The film was earlier set to release on April 11. Based on complaints of political parties, including the Congress, the Commission had also said that any poster or publicity material concerning any such certified content, which either depicts a candidate (including prospective) for the furtherance (or purported to further) of electoral prospects, directly or indirectly, shall not be put on display in electronic media in the area where MCC is in force.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for film producers had argued that the ban infringed on the right to freedom of speech and expression. The court had asked the EC to watch the film and submit a report. Today the hearing resumed on the basis of the EC’s report.

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