SC Draws Curtain on ‘Ghooskhor Pandit’ Dispute

The Supreme Court on Thursday disposed of a plea challenging the upcoming film earlier titled 'Ghooskhor Pandat' after filmmaker Neeraj Pandey informed the top court that the controversial title and all related promotional material had been withdrawn.

A Bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan took on record an affidavit filed by Pandey undertaking that the controversial title would no longer be used “in any manner whatsoever” and that all publicity content carrying the earlier name had been removed.

Recording the developments, the Justice Nagarathna-led Bench closed the proceedings, observing that no further directions were required in the matter.

During the hearing, counsel appearing for the makers submitted that the title had already been withdrawn and the controversy surrounding the film should now come to an end.

The apex court observed that once the undertaking had been given and accepted, no fresh criminal proceedings should be initiated in relation to the impugned title.

Disposing of the petition, the Supreme Court remarked that the controversy relating to the film title should now be treated as closed and disposed of the petition.

The public interest litigation (PIL) before the apex court had alleged that the film’s title and storyline promoted caste- and religion-based stereotyping and hurt the dignity of the Brahmin community.

The plea contended that associating the caste identifier “Pandit” with the term “ghooskhor” (bribe-taker) created a defamatory stereotype against an identifiable community and violated constitutional protections under Articles 14, 19(2), 21, 25 and 51A(e).

Following the Supreme Court’s rap, filmmaker Neeraj Pandey filed an affidavit assuring the top court that the controversial title had been “unequivocally withdrawn” and that the film does not insult or target any religion or community.

Last week, the Supreme Court came down heavily on the filmmakers over the title “Ghooskhor Pandat”, observing that freedom of speech and expression cannot be used as a licence to denigrate a section of society.

The Justice Nagarathna-led Bench had issued notice to the Centre, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), and the filmmaker, while indicating that the film would not be permitted to release unless the title was changed.

“Freedom of speech and expression does not mean you can portray a community in a bad light,” the apex court had remarked, cautioning that such nomenclature could disturb social harmony at a time when societal tensions already exist.

In a related development, the Delhi High Court earlier disposed of a similar plea seeking a stay on the release of the film after Netflix submitted that it would change the title and had removed all promotional content bearing the earlier name from social media.

Taking the statement on record, a single-judge Bench of Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav of the Delhi High Court observed that no further directions were required in view of the stand taken by the streaming platform.