The Netflix film ‘Maharaj’ marks the debut of Amir Khan’s son, Junaid Khan, and has been the center of a legal row for a while now. On June 13, a day before the film was slated to release, the Gujarat High Court ordered an interim stay on the film in response to a petition filed by followers of the Vaishnavite Pushtimarg sect. On Tuesday, June 18, the HC extended the stay by one day. The film is based on the life of journalist Karsandas Mulji and the famous 1862 Maharaj Libel case, which remains a landmark lawsuit to date.
Amid the ongoing legal row, Narendra Modi’s comment on the journalist in 2010, when he was serving as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, has been making rounds on the internet.
The row started when the petitioners objected to the release of the film on the grounds that excerpts of the movie contain “scandalous and defamatory language, which affects the Pushtimarg sect as a whole” and that the release of the movie “is likely to incite feelings of hatred and violence against the Pushtimarg sect, which would be in breach of the code of ethics under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.”
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Going back to the 1862 case, a complaint was filed against Karsandas Mulji over an article he published exposing the exploitation of female devotees by religious leaders. His article titled ‘Hinduono Asal Dharma ane Haalna Pakhandi Mato’ (The Primitive Religion of the Hindus and the Present Heterodox Opinions) in his Gujarati weekly newspaper ‘Satyaprakash’ attracted the ire of several priests.
Mulji’s article accused the Maharajs of engaging in sexual relations with their female devotees, several of whom were married. He contested that the behavior of these religious leaders was adulterous.
In response to the article, Jadunathji Brijratanji Maharaj, one of the most prominent and powerful religious leaders, filed a libel case against Karsandas Mulji. The Maharaj Libel Case stirred a lot of controversy and debate in Bombay and ended up becoming a landmark case in the judiciary. After considering all testimonies and materials, the court dismissed the journalist.
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In his judgment, Justice Joseph Arnould wrote, “It is not a question of theology that has been before us! It is a question of morality. The principle for which the defendant and his witnesses have been contending is simply this: That what is morally wrong cannot be theologically right.” The case gained prominence as it created a landmark history of freedom of the press in India.
In 2010, Narendra Modi, in his blog titled ‘Saluting Freedom & Truth,’ wrote, “Social reformist and journalist Karsandas Mulji’s newspaper too was titled “Satya-Prakash.” He also added, “Saanch ne ave na Aanch, Satya Chhapre Chadi ne Pokarshe, Satya No Jay,” emphasizing the power of truth (There is no ignominy in speaking the truth. Truth will out. Truth triumphs).
In the ongoing row, on Tuesday, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi, on behalf of Netflix, argued, “We cannot eradicate legal history whether we like the judgment or not. Picturization of such facts of legal history cannot be curtailed or restrained. Don’t watch the movie if you don’t like it.”