RAGHUNATHA RAO Vs. CENTRAL BOARD OF FILM CERTIFICATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The certification issued by the Revising Committee of the Central Board of Film Certification, Hyderabad, for exhibition of the Telugu film "Denikaina Ready" is questioned in these two Writ Petitions. W.P. No. 35212/2012 is filed by an individual, a resident of Hyderabad, belonging to the Brahmin community. W.P. No. 35948/2012 is filed by an organization called the A.P. Brahmana Seva Sangha Samakhya and one Dronamraju Ravi Kumar, who claims to be the President of the youth wing of the A.P. Brahmana Seva Samakhya.

(2.) Challenge to the certification of the film is based on common grounds in both the Writ Petitions. According to the petitioners, the film is intended to denigrate the Brahmin community by showing them in poor light and thereby deeply hurting the religious sentiments of the Brahmin community. It is pleaded that certain of the dialogues which are referred in the affidavits depict Brahmin pundits as greedy for money; and that certain other scenes have shown the Brahmin women in poor light, laced with obscenity and young Brahmins being fond of non-vegetarian. They have challenged the film certification as violative of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India.

(3.) One Ravinuthala Shashidhar s/o. Venkatachary, filed an Intervention Petition in W.P. No. 35212/2012 and his application i.e., WPMP No. 45970/2012 filed for this purpose, was ordered on 28-11-2012. He was accordingly impleaded as respondent No. 6 in W.P. No. 35212/2012.