Gujarat court lifts stay on Maharaj; says Netflix film doesn't hurt sentiments

Maharaj, which marks Aamir Khan's son Junaid's debut in acting, was slated to hit theatres on June 14, however, the release was put on hold due to a court stay. On Wednesday (June 19), the Gujarat High Court said it would take a call on whether Maharaj hurts religious sentiments or not, as alleged in a complaint.

Now, the court has finally given a decision on the film's release. The Gujarat High Court has lifted its temporary stay on the movie's premiere, stating that the film "is yet to be released for public viewing, thus on mere presumption, the freedom of expression guaranteed under Article 19 (1)(a) of the Constitution cannot be curtailed".

Justice Sangeeta K Vishen's judgement stated that the film, based on the 1862 Maharaj Libel Case, "is not targeted at hurting the sentiments of the Pushtimargi community".

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"The film had been certified by the Central Board for Film Certification, an expert body after considering the relevant guidelines. The interim relief granted on June 13 has been vacated," the court said. "The core message of the film as rightly contended by the respondent, is that the film focuses on the social evil and fight for social reform by Karsandas Mulji who himself was from Vaishnavite community."

“The film in no manner affects or hurts religious feelings. The film concludes that the sect is far more important than any individual or incident. Treating this incident as an exception the Vaishnav sect and its followers continued to grow and remained a proud and integral part of the social, cultural and religious fabric of India. An apprehension is raised that it is likely to cause communal disharmony. However, the book was published in 2013 based on the same libel case and no incident has been reported. Even the petitioners have not made any submission that the book has caused any communal disharmony,”saidJustice Sangeeta K Vishen.

The 1862 libel case was centred on a clash between a Vaishnavite religious leader and social reformer, Karsandas Mulji, who, in an article in a Gujarati weekly, had alleged that the godman had sexual liaisons with his female devotees. Helmed by Siddharth P Malhotra,Maharajalso stars Jaideep Ahlawat and Shalini Pandey in key roles.