KATHMANDU, JUNE 27
Patan High Court stated in its order today that halting the screening of Indian films doesn't fall under local government jurisdiction.
Patan High Court has ordered Kathmandu metropolis' Mayor Balen Shah not to ban screening of any Indian film in Kathmandu metropolis if it has been approved by the censor board.
Patan High Court's preliminary conclusion was that Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balen Shah does not possess the right to prohibit the screening of Indian films.
In the petition filed by Nepal Motion Picture Association, the bench of judges Hariprasad Paudel and Narayan Prasad Paudel issued an interim order in the name of Mayor Balen not to obstruct the screening of Indian films. The High Court has stated that the mayor has no right to ban the screening of licensed Indian films produced by filmmakers other than the producers of the film, regarding the objectionable words contained in Adipurush.
It is stated in the order of the High Court that "as the existing laws including the Local Government Operation Act 2017 do not give the jurisdiction, until the final decision is made on the filed application, the screening of the licensed Indian film should not be halted."
The high court has also stated, "The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has already successfully removed the disputed word in one of the dialogues of 'Adipurush' movie 'Bharatki'. Hence, KMC's mayor must not halt the screening of any licensed movie."
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has ordered the Mayor of KMC to furnish written clarification in a contempt of court case filed against him by Barsha Kumari Jha for posting on social media that he would not abide by court order against his decision to prohibit screening of Indian film Adipurush. On June 22, when Patan High Court issued a short-term interim order against Mayor Balen Shah's decision to prohibit screening of Indian film, Shah wrote an outrageous post saying 'When it concerns a country's independence or sovereignty, I won't abide by any law or the court.' He decided to halt the screening of Indian films in Kathmandu metropolis until the maker of the Indian film 'Adipurush' corrected a dialogue where 'Sita is mentioned as the daughter of India.' The filmmaker had issued a press release on June 18 saying "At the outset, we would like to apologise if we have hurt the sentiments of the people of Nepal in any way."
In response to a writ petition filed by Nepal Motion Picture Association against KMC, Patan High Court stated in its order that the screening of films, including Hindi films, should not be halted. The court has summoned both sides on June 27 when the court, after hearing arguments from both sides, will decide whether or not it should continue the interim order in the case. The court has also issued a show cause notice to the defendant to furnish written reply within 15 days.
Shah wrote in his Facebook post: When it concerns sovereignty and independence of the country, I won't abide by any law or the court. The writer of the film, Manoj Shukla aka Muntashir, claimed Nepal was under Indian occupation.
This shows the motive. If the Government of Nepal calls it a stunt and if the court allows screening of films, then it implies that Nepal was under Indian occupation and the court and the government are slaves. I am ready to face any repercussions, but I won't allow the screening of Hindi films.
A version of this article appears in the print on June 28, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
