Delhi HC Rejects Public Interest Litigation Which Sought To Stay The Release Of Salman Khan Starrer ‘Bharat’ On June 5

The Delhi High Court has rejected a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking an interim stay on the release of the Salman Khan-starring movie ‘Bharat’ which is all set to release on June 5.

In his plea, the petitioner Vikas Tyagi had contended that the movie’s name violated Section 3 of The Emblems And Names (Prevention Of Improper Use) Act, 1950. He had also claimed that according to this section, the word “Bharat” cannot be used for commercial purposes.

However, a vacation bench of the Delhi High Court comprising Justice J R Midha and Justice Chander Shekhar stated that the PIL had been filed by petitioner Tyagi. merely to draw mileage from the film.

The judges stated that the PIL was premature since the petitioner had not watched the film. They also criticized the petitioner for circulating his PIL in the media before filing it in the Delhi High Court.

The petitioner had claimed that according to the Constitution, “Bharat” is the official name of

India and that he felt it is inappropriate to name a film or any character in it after the country, adding that it distorted India’s “cultural and political image”.

His PIL had contended that the film was a “shameless, cunning stratagem” to encash “deep rooted feeling for our country”.

The PIL had urged the Delhi High Court to direct film maker Ali Abbas Zafar, production houses Real Life Production Pvt Ltd and Salman Khan Films, actor Salman Khan, the Central Board of Film Certification and the Centre to change any dialogue mentioning the word “Bharat”, as well as modify scenes where the film’s central character has been compared to the country.