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Synopsis

The Bombay High Court was informed on Friday by Zee Studios that BJP MP and co-producer of the movie ‘Emergency’, Kangana Ranaut, has agreed to the cuts suggested by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

A division bench of the high court comprising Justice BP Colabawalla and Justice Firdosh Pooniwalla was hearing a petition filed by Zee Studios, claiming that the CBFC had arbitrarily withheld the censor certificate after issuing it.

During the hearing, Advocate Sharan Jagtiani, representing Zee Studios, informed the bench that Kangana Ranaut had accepted the cuts suggested by the CBFC's revising committee.

Jagtiani submitted that after the cuts are made, the CBFC would review the movie and issue the certificate within two weeks.

The bench accepted this submission and passed an order disposing of the petition, while noting that, “It is needless to say that while disposing of this petition, the Court has neither commented on the merits of the contentions of either party. Any observations made in earlier orders to be treated only as prima facie observations. All rights and contentions of parties are reserved,” the order reads.

On Thursday, the bench was informed that Kangana Ranaut was in communication with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and was in the process of working out and agreeing to the cuts suggested by the CBFC.

Dr. Abhinav Chandrachud, appearing for the CBFC, informed the bench that the suggested cuts were minor, not even amounting to a minute in total.

Earlier, the CBFC had told the Bombay High Court that the censor certificate could be issued subject to these cuts suggested by the revising committee of the CBFC.

The high court had previously directed the revising committee to make and communicate its decision to Zee Studios and the court by September 25.

During earlier hearings, the bench questioned whether the ruling party was acting against its own BJP MP, Kangana Ranaut, who is the actress and co-producer of the movie.

Various protests emerged from the Sikh community after the trailer was released, with protestors alleging that the movie was anti-Sikh and should not be released.

The Bombay High Court had directed the CBFC to consider the representations made by the protestors and decide whether to issue the censor certificate or not.