‘Why denigrate a section of society…’: SC raps Netflix film ‘Ghooskhor Pandat’

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday came down heavily on the makers of the upcoming Netflix film “Ghooskhor Pandat” over its allegedly derogatory title, observing that freedom of speech and expression cannot be used as a licence to denigrate a section of society.

A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan issued notice to the Centre, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), and filmmaker Neeraj Pandey on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a stay on the release of the film, and posted the matter for further hearing on February 19.

During the hearing, the Justice Nagarathna-led Bench took strong exception to the title of the movie, remarking that such nomenclature could disturb social harmony.

“Why should you denigrate a section of society by using such a title? Freedom of speech and expression does not mean you can portray a community in a bad light,” it observed.

The Supreme Court further indicated that it would not permit the release of the film unless the title was changed.

“We will not allow you to release the film unless you tell us that the title has been changed,” the bench told the filmmaker.

Observing that names of this nature could create unrest in the country, it said: “Such names can create disturbance in the country when there is already so much unrest. When there are so many fissures in society, how can we remain silent spectators?”

The PIL before the Supreme Court alleged that the film’s title and storyline promote caste- and religion-based stereotyping and hurt the dignity and religious sentiments of the Brahmin community. It contended that equating the caste identifier “Pandit” with “ghooskhor” (bribe-taker) creates a defamatory stereotype against an identifiable community and violates Articles 14, 19(2), 21, 25 and 51A(e) of the Constitution.

The plea, filed by Atul Mishra, National Organisation Secretary of the Brahman Samaj of India, through advocate Dr Vinod Kumar Tewari, has sought a direction restraining the release or screening of the film in its present form.

Appearing for filmmaker Pandey, counsel submitted that the trailer had already been removed from social media platforms and that the title of the film was being changed.

The Supreme Court directed the producer to file an affidavit placing on record the steps taken, including the proposed change of title.

In a related development, the Delhi High Court earlier disposed of a plea seeking a stay on the release of the film after Netflix submitted that it would change the title and had removed all promotional content bearing the earlier name from social media.

Taking the statement on record, a single-judge Bench of Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav of the Delhi High Court observed that no further directions were required in view of the stand taken by the streaming platform.
IANS