Supreme Court dismisses the plea to ban Padmaavat in Rajasthan and MP

New Delhi, January 23: The Supreme Court has rejected the petition to ban Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat in the states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The court has said that the violent elements cannot be promoted, the state governments will have to manage the law system. After the Supreme Court order, the film will now release its scheduled date all over the country on January 25.

“Governments and people must understand that there is a Censor Board certificate and then a Court order…Better abide by it. Don’t watch if you don’t want to but there can’t be a ban on screening,” the apex court said.

In the plea, the states claimed that Section 6 of the Cinematograph Act empowers them to stop the exhibition of any controversial movie on the grounds of possible violation of law and order and the power must remain open.

Recently CBFC had cleared the movie U/A certificate suggesting some modifications in the film as well as in the title. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film — which stars Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmini, Ranveer Singh as Alauddin Khalji and Shahid Kapoor as Rana Ratan Singh — has been at the center of widespread protests by the Rajput groups and allies since earlier this year. Organisations such as the Karni Sena not only manhandled Bhansali and disrupted the film's shoot in Rajasthan, they called for a ban on Padmaavat's release in the state. Several state governments then declared that they would not allow Bhansali's film to be screened in their theatres. Deepika and Bhansali received death threats.