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The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has once again refused to give a certificate to the documentary En Dino Muzaffarnagar on the communal violence witnessed by the town in Uttar Pradesh in 2013, ahead of the general election.
This time the rejection of certificate for the film, which has been embroiled in a legal tussle with the CBFC since 2014, comes in the wake of an interjection by the Ministry of Home Affairs, which in a letter had suggested a ban on the film on the grounds that it was “highly provocative and instigates communal disharmony…”
The order passed by Pahlaj Nihalani, Chairman of CBFC, had on April 21, said “The film presents widespread violence and sharp communal division of the society and is full of story of vengeance against a community and counter violence... It is found to be highly and openly critical of one group and certain individuals are condemned by name.”
The film, believed to be critical of the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party, interestingly, is in line with the Judicial Commission looking into the riots, which has also indicted BJP and the ruling Samajwadi Party in UP.
The maker of this documentary, the late Shubhradeep Chakravorty, was seeking a certificate for unrestricted viewership. The case continues to be fought by his wife, Meera Chaudhary.
The latest order from the CBFC also appears to be in violation of the Delhi High Court’s earlier direction to suggest portions of the films that were offensive or give a detailed response on why the entire film should not get certificate. The order signed by Nihalani, however, does not give any particular reasons.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who is representing Chaudhary, who posted the order on social media, said the move was “totally illegal” and they would continue to challenge the same legally. Bhushan also said that the court had directed CBFC to suggest offensive portions, which had been cut out of the documentary by Chaudhary.
A different documentary Muzaffarnagar Baqi Hai has been receiving severe opposition from the student wing of the BJP, which forced the cancellation of its screening in colleges and universities across the country.
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