Mumbai: After nearly a decade, the Bombay High Court on Thursday said it will hear in December actor Amol Palekar’s petition seeking protection of artistic freedom and challenging the mandatory pre-censorship of plays and dramas.
A bench of Justices Riyaz Chagla and Farhan Dubash scheduled the hearing for December 5 after Palekar’s counsel, Anil Anturkar, requested that the 2016 petition be finally taken up. “The petitioner is 85 years old now and wants an outcome, be it positive or negative,” Anturkar told the court.
Challenge Against Police Act Rules
The counsel said the limited issue before the court is whether, under the provisions of the Bombay Police Act, the police have the authority to impose pre-censorship on plays and performances. “We are now in an era where there is no censorship of shows and series on OTT platforms,” he argued.
In his petition, Palekar has challenged the rules framed under Section 33(1)(wa) of the Bombay Police Act, which empower the Commissioner or Superintendent of Police to regulate “places of public amusement” and “performances for public amusement” — including plays, tamashas, and melas.
Mandatory Script Scrutiny Contested
These rules mandate prior scrutiny of scripts by the Maharashtra State Performance Scrutiny Board to ensure compliance with public order, decency, or morality. Performances can only be staged after the Board issues a certificate, often subject to conditions.
Palekar contends that such pre-censorship amounts to an unconstitutional restriction on artistic expression. “This pre-censorship leads to curtailment of artistic freedom. Because of this, many historic plays have not been performed in their original form,” his petition states.
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Final Hearing Scheduled
The HC had admitted the plea in September 2017 but it has not been heard on merits since then. The court will now take it up for final hearing on December 5.
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