HC seeks filmmaker's response on Kashmir documentary screening

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notice to documentary filmmaker Pankaj Butalia while hearing an appeal by the censor board challenging a single judge order asking it to issue a certificate for public screening without any cuts to his film "Textures of Loss" based on violence in Jammu and Kashmir.

A division bench of Chief Justice G.Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath was also informed by film director that the censor board asked him to delete some scene of film but it has been shown in four film festivals with official permission without a single cut. 

The bench posted the matter for August 13 saying the matter requires consideration and sought response from Butalia.

The single judge had in May asked the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to issue a certificate of screening to the movie without deletion of any scenes on a plea filed by the filmmaker challenging the censor board's refusal to clear his documentary, which features interviews of people who lost their kin in the conflict and violence in Jammu and Kashmir.

Some of them condemned India and the army, while others spoke about jihad. The censor board had sought some cuts in the documentary, but Butalia maintained that he was merely depicting different opinions.