Supreme Court declines urgent plea to halt release of 'Udaipur Files' despite trial concerns
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to urgently list a plea seeking a stay on the release of the controversial film Udaipur Files: Kanhaiya Lal Tailor Murder, effectively allowing its scheduled release on July 11.
The petition was filed by Mohammed Javed, the eighth accused in the 2022 Udaipur murder case, who argued that the film’s release during the ongoing trial would prejudice his right to a fair trial. Javed’s counsel, Advocate Pyoli, urged Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi to list the matter for immediate hearing.
However, the bench declined early listing and directed that the matter be placed before the appropriate bench after the court reopens on July 14, missing the July 11 release date.
The film, directed by Bharat S. Shrinate and featuring Vijay Raaz in the lead role, dramatizes the 2022 murder of Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor killed by two Muslim men in Rajasthan’s Udaipur for his social media support of controversial BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. The brutal killing, recorded on video, sparked nationwide outrage and communal tensions.
The petitioner claims the film, based on its trailer and promotional content, is communally charged and risks compromising the impartiality of the judicial process. He cited Section 6 of the Cinematograph Act, urging the Centre to revoke the film’s certification in the interest of public order.
The film was originally titled Gyanvapi Files, referencing the disputed mosque-temple site in Varanasi, but was later renamed to Udaipur Files.
Prominent Muslim organization Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has also moved the High Courts in Delhi, Maharashtra, and Gujarat seeking a stay, alleging the film spreads Islamophobic content, endangers communal harmony, and propagates a Hindutva agenda.
Reliance Entertainment, the film’s distributor, has come under fire for supporting a project accused of vilifying an entire community through polarising narratives.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
