The Supreme Court on Friday permitted nation-wide screening of controversial Punjabi film Sadda Haq on the condition that the Censor Board would change the ‘U’ certification given to the film by Monday.
The Court order came pursuant to a four-member panel of senior lawyers who submitted their report after a private screening was organised for them in Court precincts. With the film facing a ban in Punjab, Delhi and Chandigarh, the panel comprising Fali Nariman, Rajeev Dhavan, Indira Jaising and Rebecca John recommended that the decision to suspend the screening of the film was wrong.
Since the movie glorified the extremist era during Punjab militancy, the panel recommended substituting the ‘U’ (unrestricted) certificate with either ‘A’ or ‘U/A’. Adopting the recommendation, the bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir gave the producer of the film time till Monday to approach the Censor Board to reconsider its earlier decision.
Once the new certification was granted, the bench directed that the petitioner (film producer) will be at liberty to screen the film anywhere in the country.