Petition against Bajrangi Bhaijaan dismissed

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court dismissed on Wednesday a petition seeking court directions to stop authorities from allowing the exhibition of upcoming Bollywood film ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ in Pakistan.

Justice Aamer Farooq dismissed the petition on the grounds that the petitioner has no legal standing in the case and the petition lacked some documents. When the case was taken up, the court observed the petitioner failed to provide a valid certificate of his organisation and had attached someone else’s CNIC.

Expressing dissatisfaction, Justice Farooq said no organisation can be assumed to exist on basis of verbal assurances, and if the organisation does exist, supporting documents should be produced. When the petitioner failed to satisfy the court that he was an aggrieved party in the case, the bench dismissed the petition.

Petitioner Faisal Akbar of the Alliance for Welfare Society for Development Advocacy had challenged the exhibition of the movie. He had made the Central Board of Film Censors chairman and the information secretary respondents.

The petition stated that the board, in sheer disregard of the law and after being overwhelmed by the undue influence of commercial interests, purportedly issued a certificate to the film. The film undermines Pakistan’s integrity as an independent state, it said.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 16^th, 2015.