The Supreme Court, on Thursday, dismissed a plea seeking a stay on the nationwide release of the documentary 'An Insignificant Man', which is based on the life of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The documentary is set to be released on Friday, 17 November. The counsel appearing for petitioner Nachiketa Walhekar, who had allegedly thrown ink at Kejriwal in 2013, said that he has been depicted as a convict in the movie despite the fact that the trial in that matter was still pending before a lower court in Delhi.
Dismissing the petition, the bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said that freedom of speech and expression is sacrosanct and it should not be ordinarily interfered with.
The counsel claimed that the movie has tarnished the image of the petitioner and the court should direct the filmmakers to put a disclaimer that the trial in the ink-throwing case was still pending.
The bench, however, refused to direct the Central Board of Film Certification to stay the release of the movie. The bench said:
The courts have to be extremely slow to pass any kind of orders in such situations and should allow a creative man to enjoy writing a drama, philosophy and book of any kind or project it in on celluloid or theatre.
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