AP High Court quashes ban on 'Da Vinci Code'

Hyderabad, Jun 21 (UNI) The Andhra Pradesh High Court today quashed a Government Order which imposed a ban on screening the controversial film 'The Da Vinci Code'.

While allowing three writ petitions filed questioning the ban as unreasonable, Justice G Raghuram, observed that the authority that imposed the ban had not watched the film. He mechanically certified ''the heckler's veto of a few objectors, on dictation'' and the authority did not satisfy himself after seeing it as is required under law whenever ban on the exhibition of a film is imposed, the court observed.

The Judge observed that the authority simply succumbed to the pressure exerted by a few passers-by threatening a possible panic and arson by some religious sects if the film released. Those who objected to the film did not have any compulsion to see the film at all if they felt their religious sentiments would be hurt on account of watching the movie..

''They are at liberty to keep themselves away from watching such films. However, they cannot compel a ban on the basis of their own individualised hyper sensitive, private, sensorial intrusion'', the Judge remarked.

The Judge further observed that the Government did not address to the consequences in a pragmatic way. The ban was highly unreasonable restriction on the quaranteed fundamental freedom of speech and expression of the people in general.

The Judge imposed costs to the tune of Rs 10,000 each to the petitioners namely, Lakshmi Films, a distributor of the film in the Old State of Nizam and Soni Pictures Entertainments in India who is a distributor of the film in the country and a sum of Rs 2,500 to the paid to an another person who claimed himself to be an ordinary film goer.

UNI XR/JRK JJ AK PC2144