'PM Narendra Modi' biopic: Supreme Court declines urgent hearing

The release of 'PM Narendra Modi' biopic starring Vivek Oberoi has been indefinitely postponed as the Supreme Court on Friday declined urgent hearing of an appeal filed against the Bombay High Court order which had refused to interfere with the release of the film.

The petition was filed by Congress spokesperson and lawyer Aman Panwar in the Supreme Court.

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The bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said, "What biopic? We have not seen it. Perhaps we will watch it over the weekend, then you mention."

The bench told Panwar that it will come up in the regular course of hearing.

The court had on Thursday agreed to hear on April 8 Panwar's plea which sought deferment of the biopic's release till the completion of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, alleging that it was designed to "manipulate, influence and impress viewers and voters".

Appearing for the petitioner, lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi had told the bench headed by Justice Bobde that two high courts have refused to interfere with the release of the movie starring Vivek Oberoi. He submitted that the release of the movie may affect free and fair election as mandated in the Constitution.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's biopic violates the model code of conduct. The release of this film which has been produced by people connected to the ruling party would affect free and fair polls," Singhvi said.

The petition also alleged that Censor Board Chairman Prasoon Joshi has acted as a judge in its own cause. "It is also pertinent to mention herein that this petition is not an attempt to censor the movie, but is only an attempt to ensure that the Moral Code of Conduct and other electoral laws are not violated during the General Elections 2019, through this movie," the petition added.

The Bombay High Court on Monday had disposed of a plea seeking deferment of the release of the biopic, saying the Election Commission will deal with the issue.

Meanwhile, the current status of the film is as such that the film has no immediate release date as the producer Sandip Ssingh tweeted, "This is to confirm, our film 'PM Narendra Modi' is not releasing on 5th April. Will update soon.”

Joshi, on the matter said, "Since there are a lot of queries around the certification of the film, (I) would like to give a clear picture: the film is going through the due process of examination and certification according to the requisite guidelines and is yet to be certified as the process is not complete at this point.”

The film has Vivek Oberoi playing the role of the current PM with Omung Kumar as the director.