Kolkata, 23 September (IANS) A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday, demanded an explanation from the West Bengal government whether there were any specific administrative instructions to ban the screening of the Agnihotri-directed film ‘The Bengal files’ in the cinema hall.
The division bench of Justice Sujay Paul and Justice Smita Das Dey directed the state government to submit their clarification in the court by 26 September.
The matter will come to hear again on 26 September.
The Division Bench on Tuesday demanded this clarification from the West Bengal government, working on a public interest litigation (PIL) earlier this month, seeking court intervention to ensure a smooth and peaceful screening of ‘The Bengal files’ in the cinema halls and multiplexes in West Bengal.
Currently, there is an informal ban on the screening of ‘The Bengal files’ in West Bengal, where cinema halls and multiplex owners have refused to provide a slot for the film, allegedly following pressure from a special political pressure group.
On Tuesday, Justice Paul questioned the state government counsel whether it was true that ‘Bengal files’ was not shown in the same cinema hall in Kolkata.
Earlier this month, the single judge bench of Calcutta High Court Justice Amrita Sinha rejected a petition filed against the screening of ‘The Bengal files’, as the petitioner concerned did not return his claims behind his petition with certified information and assistant documents.
The petition was filed by Santanu Mukherjee, grandson of freedom fighter Gopal Mukherjee alias Gopal Patha, who was painted in the film.
Justice Sinha also said that such petitions did not come under the jurisdiction of his court and the petitioner should reach the appropriate platform in the case.
‘The Bengal Files’, ‘Files’ is the third part of Triology, which is ‘The Testive Files’ in 2019 and second is the very controversial ‘The Kashmir files’ of ‘Kashmir Files’ in 2022.
Earlier, the West Bengal government headed by Mamta Banerjee was allegedly accused of issuing a gag order against other feature films such as “The Kerala Story ‘.
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