New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a PIL seeking a ban on the trailer of the movie “The Accidental Prime Minister” on the ground it had caused unaccountable damage to the name and fame of the office of the Prime Minster.
A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V. Kameswar Rao rejected the Public Interest Litigation filed by Pooja Mahajan, a Delhi-based fashion designer through her counsel Arun Maitri.
The film is based on a similarly titled the book by Sanjaya Baru, the former media advisor of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Actors Anupam Kher and Akshaye Khanna play Manmohan Singh and Baru in the film, slated to release on Friday. The PIL said the film will harm the image of the Constitutional post such as Prime Minister and will give it a bad name nationally and internationally.
On Monday, a single judge bench disposed off the plea saying it should be refiled as a public suit. The plea said the trailer violated Section 416 of the Indian Penal Code as impersonation of a living character or living persons is not permissible in law.
In the plea, Mahajan had requested the court to issue direction to the Centre, Google, YouTube and Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to take steps to stop the exhibition and display of the trailer.
