SC Refuses To Stay OTT Release Of 'Why I Killed Gandhi'

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a writ petition seeking stay on the release of the film "Why I Killed Gandhi" on over the top (OTT) platform "Limelight" and asked the petitioner to approach the concerned High Court on the issue.

Granting liberty to the petitioner to move the High Court, a bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and JK Maheshwari observed that a writ petition under Article 32 may only be filed when there is a question of violation of fundamental right. "There is no fundamental right of the petitioner which appears to have been violated. Thus this plea cannot be entertained. However, it appears that the petitioner is a citizen may have a serious cause of concern here. Petitioner is at liberty to approach the High court under Article 226," the court said.

Seeking removal of all contents of the controversial film from all online platforms, petitioner Sikandar Behl, through advocate Anuj Bhandari, also sought the prohibition of any exhibition or publication of the film or any of its contents in any manner whatsoever on any OTT platform or social media. If the release and exhibition of the said movie is not stopped, it would irreparably tarnish the image of the Father of the Nation and would cause public unrest, hatred and disharmony, the plea read.

It also stressed the need for content regulation of OTT platforms.

In the movie's two minutes twenty seconds' long trailer, an attempt has been made to blame Mahatma Gandhi for the partition of India and atrocities against Hindus in Pakistan, and thereby an attempt has been made to justify the killing of Mahatma, it said.

The film, set to release on various OTT platforms on January 30, on the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's assassination has ignited a massive controversy.

Notably, the film features Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Amol Kolhe in the role of Godse, which also sparked friction among Maharashtra's ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi allies Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress.