Jamiat Ulema files plea in Delhi HC against release of movie 'Udaipur Files'

NEW DELHI: Jamiat Ulema-i- Hind has filed a plea in the Delhi High Court for prohibiting the release of the movie 'Udaipur Files' scheduled on July 11, 2025.

The movie is said to be based on killing of tailor Kanhaiya Lal for supporting Nupur Sharma. The macabre act by the religious fanatics was recorded on camera, sending shocks across the country.

The plea also sought to challenge the validity of the certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), claiming that it was in violation of Section 5B of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 and the Guidelines for Certification of Films for Public Exhibition issued under Section 5B in 1991.

The petitioner claimed the 2 minute 53 second trailer of the movie, released on June 26, 2025 was replete with dialogues and instances that had led to communal disharmony in the very recent past and thus carried every potential to again stoke the same communal sentiments.

"The movie, purported to be the story of the murder of one Kanhaiya Lal in 2022, in fact unabashedly depicts court scenes, the statement made by a sitting Chief Minister supporting one party in the case and also explicitly mentions the controversial statement made by a politician - Nupur Sharma - which had resulted in communal violence and, in turn, the gruesome murder of Kanhaiya Lal," it said.

The petitioner contended the trailer itself sought to portray an entire community in a prejudicial manner thereby violating the right to live with dignity for the members.

"The trailer itself is sufficient to demonstrate its highly provocative nature, capable of creating a wedge between the communities which may cause serious disturbance to public peace and public order across the country, which had demonstrably happened with the same set of statements that are now being repeated in the movie," the plea contended.

The petitioner asserted the release of the film Udaipur Files has the potential to inflame communal tensions and disrupt public order, results in vilifying an entire religious community, fosters hatred and severely undermines the fabric of religious harmony in the country which amounts to a direct contravention of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution, as it promoted discrimination, and threatens the right to life with dignity and security for an entire community.

It further stated while Section 5B of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 prohibited grant of certification to a film if it is against public order, decency, or morality or is likely to incite the commission of any offence, the Guidelines for Certification of Films for Public Exhibition issued under Section 5B in 1991 mandated that visuals or words which promote communal, obscurantist, anti-scientific and anti-national attitudes were not presented.

It also stated the film violated constitutional morality by weaponizing the freedom of expression to weaken the constitutional vision of a plural, inclusive, and secular India, and instead attempted to mainstream narratives that deepened social and religious divisions.

"Artistic expression, no matter how evocative, cannot be permitted to become a vehicle to crush fraternity and uproot the ethical foundations of the nation as enshrined in the Constitution," it said.

By reviving and amplifying content that has previously led to communal unrest, the film undermines the spirit of fraternity and endangers the secular and pluralistic fabric of the nation, warranting urgent judicial intervention, it stated.

The petitioner submitted that while the movie paints an entire community and its leadership with the same paintbrush, including highly objectionable scenes showing Muslim clergy having homosexual relations with underage children, to depict the same incident and to repeat the same utterances which have demonstrably led to communal tensions in the very recent past is stoking the same communal passions all over again.

"Moreover, while the murder of Kanhaiya Lal, which the petitioner unequivocally condemns, was carried out by two fanatics, the trailer seeks to portray the same as being carried out with the complicity of the religious heads/leaders of the community. The trailer contains dialogues and narrative elements that clearly fall within the ambit of hate speech directed against a particular community of the country and the language, imagery, and narrative adopted in the trailer are not only inflammatory but deliberately communal," the plea said.