SC Orders WB Govt to Specifically Write ‘No Ban’ on Bhobishyoter Bhoot Screening

RBN Web Desk: The Supreme Court has ordered the West Bengal government to send a written communication to all theatres, stating that there is no ban on the screening of Anik Dutta’s film Bhobishyoter Bhoot. The film had released on 15 February but disappeared from multiplexes and single-screen theatres in Kolkata within a day. Hall owners citied instructions from a ‘higher authority’ to withdraw the film.

A Supreme Court division bench, comprising justices DY Chandrachud and Hemant Gupta, passed the order today and observed that there must be a free flow of ideas. The court said it is duty bound in upholding the freedom of expression in the country. It ordered the West Bengal government’s chief secretary, principal secretary of the home department, and the director general of police to ensure adequate security arrangements to facilitate the film’s screening. The bench instructed the state government to ensure that the audience are not endangered while watching the film in the theatres and that there’s no threat of damage to the property of the halls where the film is being screened.

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The apex court, on 15 March, had ordered the West Bengal government to resume the screening of the film.

Bhobishyoter Bhoot, since then, has been running sporadically in some theatres on the outskirts of the city. The film, however, is slated for several shows abroad in the US and Europe.