Punjab CM, Speaker must resign for calling 'illegal' session: Congress leader Partap Bajwa
Chandigarh (PTI): Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa, Saturday sought the resignation of Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on moral grounds for "squandering" money from the state exchequer on an "illegal" house session.
The two-day Punjab assembly session that began Friday was cut short with the AAP government announcing it would move the Supreme Court against the governor for not approving the three Bills that were to be tabled in the House.
Governor Banwarilal Purohit termed the session illegal and withheld his approval of the revenue-related Bills.
Congress leader Bajwa Saturday said Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan abruptly called off the ongoing session and adjourned it sine die.
"The haste with which the session was adjourned proves that the session was illegal. Therefore, someone from the government must bear the onus of calling the house session in the first place," Bajwa said in a statement.
"Neither did the Aam Aadmi Party present any bill nor did it hold any brainstorming discussion on Punjab issues take place in the session. Hence, what was the point of holding this session?
"All the Punjab CM did was announce that they would move to the Supreme Court of India against the Governor of Punjab's letter in which he had termed the session illegal," Bajwa added.
The Qadian MLA said there has never been such a casual approach to summoning the House without a decision on the business to be transacted, he said.
"Sine die adjournment of the House cannot be a routine. It is an exception to be used only in unforeseeable circumstances and emergent situations. It is also used to avoid resummoning the House at short notice through the usual mode adopted after prorogation," said Bajwa.
The opposition leader said it takes around Rs 75 lakh to hold the Vidhan Sabha session for a day.
"It was Punjab's taxpayers' hard-earned money that the AAP government wasted recklessly yesterday. The AAP government must deposit this money in the exchequer from its party funds," he demanded.
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Pleas against ''The Kerala Story 2'' premature, misconceived: Producer to Kerala HC
Kochi (PTI): The producer of 'The Kerala Story 2-Goes Beyond' has told the Kerala High Court that the pleas opposing the film’s release are “premature, misconceived and not maintainable”.
The submission was made by the film’s producer, Vipul Amrutlal Shah, in an affidavit filed before the court on Tuesday.
Opposing the petitions, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on Wednesday said an alternative statutory remedy of seeking revision was available to the petitioners.
It also told the court that the pleas ought to have been filed as public interest litigations, which are heard by a division bench.
The petitioners contended that the film aims to tarnish the image of Kerala and harm the reputation of its people.
They further alleged that the teaser and trailer were misleading and depicted on social media content that cannot be shown in theatres.
“They (producers) are doing indirectly, through the teaser and trailer, what they cannot do directly,” advocate Maitreyi Sachidananda Hegde, appearing for one of the petitioners, Sreedev Namboodiri, told the court.
After hearing arguments for over an hour and a half, Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas said the matter would be taken up again on Thursday and orally asked the producers not to render the proceedings infructuous, noting that the petitioners’ apprehensions “were probably genuine”.
The court observed that a revision can be sought only after watching the film, by which time it may become redundant.
“The damage may already be done by then,” it said.
Justice Thomas said the matter would be heard again on Thursday at 9.45 am.
During the hearing, the court said it cannot pass orders regarding the teaser and trailer, as no specific relief has been sought in that regard.
It also observed that there is nothing objectionable about the film’s title by itself, unless it is linked to the content shown in the teaser and trailer.
In his affidavit, Shah contended that the CBFC is the sole expert authority under the Cinematograph Act, 1952, to examine films in their entirety and certify them for public exhibition.
“The supervisory jurisdiction of this court does not extend to substituting its own assessment of a film’s content for the expert judgment of the certifying authority,” he said.
He denied the allegations in the pleas and termed them “an abuse and misuse of the process of law”.
Referring to the plea filed by Namboodiri, Shah alleged that it was filed “with a malafide intention and an ulterior motive to gain financial benefits”.
He also said the teaser was released 16 days before the filing of the plea.
He argued that the exhibition of a certified film cannot be restrained based solely on a two-minute teaser, without examining the complete film.
He further said that granting prior restraint without examining the full film, without any prima facie finding of illegality in the CBFC’s decision, and based only on a teaser, would cause “catastrophic and irreversible economic harm” to the producer, exhibitors and distribution partners.
“The film is slated for release in over 1,800 theatres across India and overseas,” Shah said.
On the title, he said the qualifier “Goes Beyond” was “not decorative”.
“It is a deliberate and conspicuous textual signal… that the film’s narrative extends beyond the geography of Kerala.
“The definite article ‘The’ refers to the first film in the franchise and does not restrict the subject matter to Kerala alone,” the affidavit said.
He also argued that if there is apprehension of protests or law-and-order issues, it is for the state to address them and not a ground to halt the release of a film.
“A scenario where any individual or group can effectively veto the exhibition of a certified film by threatening disorder would render meaningless both the CBFC certification process and the constitutional guarantee of free expression,” the affidavit stated.
The court had on Tuesday orally observed that the teaser and trailer depict Kerala, a state known for communal harmony, in a negative light.
It also noted that using the state’s name and claiming the film is based on facts could lead to communal tensions.
Three separate pleas have sought to quash the CBFC certificate granted to the film, which is scheduled for release on February 27.
Besides quashing the certification, Namboodiri’s plea also seeks modifications, including reconsideration of the film’s title.
The petitioner has alleged that the film was certified without due compliance with the statutory requirements under the Cinematograph Act, 1952.
