Release of ‘Maharaj’ film by Aamir Khan’s son Junaid Khan is stayed till next hearing in the Gujarat High Court. The High Court has also issued notice to Yashraj Films, Netflix India and others.
The petitioners Girish Popatlal Dani, Bharat Pranjivandas Mandalia, Shailesh Indravadan Patwari, Amit Harivadan Parikh, Shashikant Tapubhai Soni, Yogesh Laxmidas Dubal, Bharat Chinubhai Dudhiya, Girish Maneklal Gandhi have approached the Gujarat High Court through Special Civil Application against Union of India, Central Board of Film Certification, Yash Raj Films Pvt. Ltd. and Netflix Entertainment Services India LLP.
The petitioners are the followers of Pustimargi sect and devotees of Bhagwan Shree Krishna. Recently, they said they have come across various articles regarding release of movie “Maharaj” on Netflix on 14.06.2024. While inviting the attention of the Gujarat High Court Court, it is submitted by petitioners that the film is based on “Libel Case 1862” rendered by English Judges. Reference has been made to the excerpts from the judgment (pages 38 to 45) of Libel Case. It is submitted by petitioners that the excerpts contain scandalous and defamatory language, which affects the Pustimargi sect as a whole.
The petitioners submitted that the release of the movie on the basis of Maharaj Libel Case of 1862, is likely to incite feelings of hatred and violence against the Pustimargi sect which, would be in breach of code of ethics under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021(hereinafter referred to as the ‘Rules of 2021’) and the Selfregulation Code of Over the Top Technology (OTT).