It is to the infinite acclaim of the Supreme Court of India that even as it was roiling under the impact of internal disharmony it mustered the moral courage to uphold Constitutional values like the freedom of speech and expression, bolstered the authority of the Central Board of Film Certification, and directed all state governments not to duck their mandated duty by sacrificing law and order responsibilities at the altar of political expediency.
In one grand move their Lordships Dipak Misra (CJI), AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud reinforced the majesty of the law, ridiculing suggestions that public sentiment was paramount. “Our Constitutional conscience is shocked if the exhibition of a film is guillotined like this” declared the court, as it not only junked notifications of the Gujarat and Rajasthan governments banning the screening of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat (Haryana and Madhya Pradesh had spoken of similar action), and directed all states to refrain from moves of that nature.
It went even farther in demanding due protection to theatres screening the movie as well as all involved in the production. In a message that must “register” in an era of increasing intolerance the court said state governments were not super-censors, the CBFC was the sole authority. Though merely an interim order, there was a ring of finality to the richly endowed “quotable quotes” that flowed through the court on Thursday as the glory of the law was emphatically underscored.
The Rajasthan and Gujarat governments sought brownie points when claiming they would honour the interim order ~ did they have any other option? ~ but would explore legal options to have it modified. The “fringe” had no time for niceties ~ a theatre in Bihar was ransacked, warnings of dire consequences were issued, a group of women threatened mass suicide as “caste pride” assumed insane proportions in the 21st century. Without venturing into the political underpinning of the furore, let it be accepted that social regression is the new “norm” when garnering electoral advantage.
Wonder if Bhansali and his team had ever dreamt of how even before it was publicly exhibited Padmaavat would shake to the core India’s liberal traditions and expose the immaturity of those making pretensions to leadership. While the movie’s success at the box office is yet to be displayed, it has “bombed” the national thinking into much-needed self-reappraisal.
What the interim order also achieved was the filling of an administrative vacuum created by government(s) that sacrificed their “spine” to appease forces sending society into a tailspin. In stepping in where the administration had conveniently backed off, the court upheld the basic features of the social fabric, making it clear the divisive intolerance was utterly unacceptable. Let none in the field of governance ever again speak of judicial over-reach, instead let them admit to dereliction of duty.