SC rejects plea claiming Censor Board's certificate to Padmaavat was illegal

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to admit a plea which claimed that the Censor Board certificate issued to historical drama Padmaavat was illegal.

While refusing to entertain the plea, the three-judge bench of Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra said "the Court has to function as a constitutional court and it has already in its interim order yesterday said that states can't block a movie from screening."

The plea to cancel Padmaavat's certificate was filed by lawyer Manohar Lal Sharma. He had filed a plea to block the movie's release in November also when the Censor Board had not given its certification. 

Rejecting his plea then, the SC had said: "when the matter is pending for CBFC's consideration, how can persons holding public offices comment on whether CBFC should issue certificate or not? It'll prejudice decision making of CBFC."

Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film has been facing massive protests by Rajput groups claiming that the Rani Padmavati's character has been wrongly portrayed in the movie. The film, starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, was slated to release on December 1, 2017 but was deferred to January 25, 2018.

The Central Board of Film Certification had on December 31, 2017 given a U/A certification to the historical drama but had asked the makers to change the name from Padmavati to Padmaavat.

The Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor starrer has been plagued by controversies ever since its inception. The movie which was earlier slated for release December 1, 2017 is now being released on January 25, 2018.

Several modifications were suggested by the CBFC which included changing of the disclaimer so that one does not "claim historical accuracy". The song `Ghoomar` was also asked to be modified so as to make the depiction befitting the character being portrayed.