The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a petition seeking stay on the release of the film ‘An Insignificant Man’, saying…
Supreme Court (Photo: AFP)
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a petition seeking stay on the release of the film ‘An Insignificant Man’, saying freedom of speech and expression is sacrosanct and should not be ordinarily interfered with.
The film is based on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Dismissing the plea, the Apex Court said, “Freedom of speech and expression is sacrosanct and should not be ordinarily interfered with. Any film or drama or novel is creation of artist.”
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“An artist has his own freedom to express himself in a manner which is not prohibited in law,” it added.
Petitioner Nachiketa Walhekar had alleged that a clip of his was used in the documentary to glorify Kejriwal and sought its removal.
The non-fiction political thriller (as termed by the directors) captures the journey of the AAP between December 2012 and December 2013, concluding with the Delhi elections, where a newly formed AAP took the country by the storm winning 28 out of 70 seats.
Earlier, a similar petition was filed in the Gujarat High Court against the release of the movie.
The Gujarat Assembly elections are in December and the model code of conduct (MCC) is in effect right now. Advocate Bhavik Samani filed the public interest litigation (PIL) seeking the Gujarat High Court’s direction to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to restrain release of the film on the ground that the MCC is in effect in Gujarat in view of the assembly polls. Somani has written to the Election Commission of India (ECI) saying ‘An Insignificant Man’ violates the MCC.
The trailer of the 100-minute documentary, which has real-life characters essaying the roles, has been out in social media. The movie is slated to release on Friday.
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