‘Battle of Banaras’: Delhi High Court quashes CBFC decision
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday quashed a decision of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) refusing to certify for public viewing a documentary chronicling the 2014 campaign for the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat involving Prime Minister Narendra Modi, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and Congress candidate Ajay Rai.Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva sent the matter back to Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) to take a fresh decision on the documentary titled ‘Battle of Banaras’ with reasons within four weeks.The producer of the documentary, Manu Kumaran, moved the High Court two years back against the decision of the FCAT and the CBFC. The Censor Board refused certification to the film on October 15, 2015 and the FCAT upheld the decision later. The petition alleged that the Censor Board and the FCAT orders contained no mention of what parts of the film were objectionable and violated the guidelines of film certification issued under the Cinematograph Act, 1952.It claimed that the documentary was denied certification for public exhibition or its exhibition in film festival.During the course of the hearing, the censor copy of the documentary was viewed by the High Court judge in the presence of the counsel for the parties as well as officers of the board.The 2014 documentary, directed by Kamal Swaroop, captured live footage recorded over 44 days of campaigning in Varanasi.