A court in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra has rejected a petition seeking temporary injunction to restrain streaming of teasers of Shah Rukh Khan-starrer ‘Pathaan’ movie and its ‘Besharam Rang’ song on YouTube without show- ing U/A censor certificate.
P A Patel, Joint Civil Judge at Shrirampur court in Ahmednagar, rejected the plea on February 8, stating that a plaintiff must produce something to show the foundation for his claim.
Suresh Patil, who claims to be a social worker, had moved the court ahead of the release of the movie, which hit the screens on January 25.
Perusal of the complaint and documents filed on record show that the plaintiff is claiming temporary injunction to restrain the defendants (Yash Raj Films) from showing the teaser and ‘Besharam Rang’ song of “Pathaan” movie without showing U/A certificate, the court said.
The court also said that from the contentions of the plaintiff, it appears that he has seen the song and teaser on YouTube and also noticed that U/A certificate is not shown before streaming of the content.
“Therefore he got confused,” it said. Patil himself stated that the meaning of U/A certificate (unrestricted public exhibition subject to parental guidance for children below the age of twelve), the court noted.
Thus, no injury is caused to the plaintiff, it said.
On perusal of record, it shows that the main relief claim by Patil in present suit is same as the temporary injunction sought by him.
“If the said relief is granted, it is as good as the final relief. Hence, relief cannot be granted,” the court noted. “Moreover, from the contentions of the plaintiff, no prima facie case is made out. Plaintiff must come off with something to show foundation
for his claim,” the court ruled.
The court observed that no loss will be caused to the plaintiff if application is rejected and he is having another remedy.
Ahead of its release, “Pathaan” was mired in controversy due to its song ‘Besharam Rang’ as many, including politicians, criticised the song for “hurting religious sentiments” of Hindus. Several right wing organisations objected to the “saffron costumes” worn by actor Deepika Padukone in the song.
