Bombay HC refuses to order certification of Kangana Ranaut's Emergency, next hearing on Sep 19

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 4 : Amid a controversy over actor turned politician, Kangana Ranaut's upcoming film, 'Emergency', the Bombay High Court on Wednesday said that it is unable to direct the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to issue the certificate as it would contradict the MP High Court order.
The Court has also asked the CBFC to take a decision by September 18.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for September 19.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises, the co-producer company of the 'Emergency', approached the Bombay High Court seeking the release of actress Kangana Ranaut's film and a censor certificate.
A petition was filed in the Bombay High Court, claiming that the censor board had arbitrarily and illegally withheld the censor certificate of the film.
The MP High Court had directed the CBFC to consider the representations made by Sikh groups who had filed a petition before it.
Earlier, the Bombay court mentioned that it is not dismissing the petition, and if there is a delay of one week, it won't be catastrophic. The court also remarked that these arguments should have been made before the MP High Court.
The court added that it is on the petitioner's side and questioned how some groups can determine that the film is objectionable without even watching it.
The court further stated that if it directs the CBFC to issue a certificate, it would be violating the order of another High Court, highlighting the difficulties it faces.
The lawyer representing Kangana Ranaut's production house argued that they would not make any changes to the film and would release it as it was sealed by the CBFC.
On August 8, 2024, the CBFC issued a letter to the film's producer and co-producer to make changes to the film. The certificate indicated that modifications were to be made to the film.
On August 14, Zee and the co-producers submitted the film 'Emergency' with the required revisions and cuts as per the CBFC's instructions.
After this process was completed, on August 29, the co-producers received an email from the CBFC stating that the CD was sealed and they were asked to collect the certificate from the CBFC office.
Later, another email was received, indicating that the film's certificate had been successfully prepared and a certificate number was also provided.
Meanwhile, Kangana Ranaut took to social media to address the delays, revealing that the film's certification process is currently stalled.
She stated, "There have been rumours circulating that my film 'Emergency' has been certified by the Censor Board. This is not true. While our film did receive clearance from the CBFC, the certification was on hold due to numerous death threats against members of the Censor Board."