Controversial flick: LHC reserves verdict on film ban

Maalik’s exhibition was banned on May 27

LAHORE: Justice Shams Mehmood Mirza of Lahore High Court on Thursday reserved verdict on petitions challenging the ban on Lollywood flick Maalik.

The Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and Heritage had banned the film’s exhibition on May 27. Leader of the Opposition in the Provincial Assembly (PA) Mehmoodur Rasheed and Advocate Munir Ahmad had then moved separate petitions challenging the ban.

The counsel for the federal government said that the government had the authority to ban the film. He said the film’s exhibition could stoke social unrest. The counsel said the provincial government had not imposed any restriction on Maalik.

The counsel for the petitioners said the federal government did not have the power to ban films following the passage of the 18th Amendment as the subject had been devolved to the provinces. They said the film was premised on financial malpractice, a hot topic in the wake of the Panama Papers controversy. The counsel said its exhibition would not fuel social unrest. They said the film neither compromised national sovereignty nor was it inimical towards national ethos. The counsel said a nationwide ban had been imposed on Maalik without taking this into account. They said the time was ripe to raise public awareness regarding corruption.

They said watching the film was a fundamental right of the people that had constitutional sanction in the form of Article-19. The counsel said any action contrary to Article-19 was void in terms of Article-8. They said the May 27 notification banning the film was illegal when read in conjunction with Articles 4 and 5.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 3^rd, 2016.