Why waste our time? Supreme Court refuses to stall release of 'Udaipur Files'
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain multiple petitions seeking a stay on the release of the film Udaipur Files, which is based on the 2022 murder of Kanhaiya Lal Teli in Rajasthan.
The Court directed all parties to approach the Delhi High Court, which has been requested to hear the matter on Monday, July 28.
"First go to High Court. Now other side says, he is satisfied with central government order and he does not want to pursue the case here. So you go to the Delhi High Court now. Why waste our time?," the Court remarked.
The Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi disposed of the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the producer of the film as infructuous, in view of a revision order already passed by the Central Government and the producer’s undertaking to abide by the same.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Jamiat-Ulema-i-Hind, had challenged the film’s release, arguing that the movie goes beyond mere portrayal and is a deliberate act of vilification. “We have seen the entire film. This isn’t like past cases where only trailers or clips were challenged. The challenge is to the substance of the movie,” he said.
Sibal also invoked the Supreme Court’s judgment in Amish Devgan, submitting that there is a settled test for what constitutes hate speech.
However, Justice Bagchi clarified that in such cases, the Wednesbury unreasonableness principle would apply and not the test of proportionality.
The Court directed the Registry to return the original petition filed by Sibal to facilitate its presentation before the Delhi High Court. It also disposed of the petition filed by one of the accused in the murder case, Md. Javed, as infructuous after noting that he had already moved the High Court under Article 226.
Justice Surya Kant clarified that the Supreme Court had not expressed any view on the merits of the matter. “Both parties are relegated to the High Court. Let it take a call. We will request the High Court to list the matter for preliminary hearing on Monday,” he said.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Gaurav Bhatia, appearing for the film’s producer, argued that the movie had undergone over 60 changes as suggested by the Central Board of Film Certification. “Can there be a perfect film which doesn’t offend anyone? Every time truth is shown, someone tries to act as censor,” Bhatia submitted.
Another counsel supporting the film’s release questioned the basis of the petitioners’ concerns, asking rhetorically whether there was any violence against Muslims after the release of The Kashmir Files, The Kerala Story, or even after the 26/11 attacks. “This vilification theory is a figment of imagination,” the counsel claimed.
Justice Kant, in a lighter moment, remarked, “It’s the low season. The more the publicity, the more people want to watch it. That’s human nature.”
Ultimately, the Court left the decision on interim relief and the film’s release to the High Court.
Yesterday, on July 24, the SGl Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central Government had strongly defended the film’s release, stating it was “crime-focused, not community-targeted” and had undergone substantial modifications in line with certification norms. Earlier, on July 21, the SG had informed the Bench that orders had already been passed in the revision petition. "A step more would be infringing upon that process, is my personal opinion" he cautioned. On July 16, the Court had deferred hearing on pleas, it decided to wait for the outcome of ongoing proceedings before the Central Government on a revision petition under Section 6 of the Cinematograph Act.
Interestingly, on July 15, the Supreme Court had agreed to hear on July 16, a petition filed by an accused Mohammad Javed, in the Kanhaiya Lal murder case seeking stay on release of movie “The Udaipur Files: Kanhaiyalal Tailor Murder”, and on July 14, the Supreme Court had agreed to list a plea challenging the Delhi High Court’s interim stay order.
Earlier, on July 9, the High Court had directed the producer of Udaipur Files, Amit Jani, to arrange a private screening of the movie and its trailer for all counsel of both parties, after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had informed the court that it had mandated 40 to 50 cuts before granting certification. The High Court had also clarified that the manner in which the case against release had been reported in media was not what truly happened in the hearing before the Supreme Court, with portals reporting that the court had asked for it to be released.
Stay on the release of the film Udaipur Files had received strong criticism from Kanhaiya Lal’s son, Yash Sahu.
Case Title: Mohammad Javed v. UOI and Jani Firefox Media v. Maulana Arshad Madani
Hearing Date: July 25, 2025
Bench: Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi