Mohalla Assi: Court defers hearing till July 13

Lucknow, July 6: The Allahabad High Court today deferred till July 13 the hearing on a petition seeking direction against clearance to Sunny Deol-starrer 'Mohalla Assi'.

The decision came after the Assistant Solicitor General of India (ASG), representing the Centre, told the division bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Rakesh Srivastava that he has got oral instruction from the censure board that no certification has been issued for exhibition of the film or the trailer in question.

But the ASG said that he has not received written instruction in this regard, following which the court directed him to take written instructions and place it on record for consideration.

The court fixed July 13 as the next date of hearing. The PIL has been filed by 'Hindu Front For Justice', a group of 11 local lawyers through their counsel HS Jain. Earlier the court had directed the counsels of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and the Centre to seek instructions for placing their responses.

Petitioners have also sought a direction for restraining the opposite parties, to ensure that trailer of film is not exhibited in any manner in public or social media till the time necessary certificate is granted by the BOFC.

The petitioners alleged that from the trailer of the film, it appears that the "producer, director and actors have acted in most irresponsible manner and have degraded, as if intentionally, the cultural background of the religious place 'Kashi'".

PTI