“See the earlier order, the court notices the changes in law. Earlier and existing provisions and the changes were noticed. It was noticed clearly what kind of orders can be passed under Section 6… It was a statutory remedy to which the petitioners were relegated. You have to exercise the powers within the four corners of the statute. You can’t go beyond that,” the bench said.Section 6 of the Act grants the central government revisional powers over film certification.Sharma submitted that the film has undergone a two-step filter, first by the censor board, which suggested 55 cuts, and second by the committee, which further asked for six cuts, making a total of 61 cuts.”There is a body of experts and so it happens in this case that it has undergone a two-stage filter test — first by the board which suggested 55 cuts. All those cuts were those which had purported generic overtones,” he said.Senior advocate Maneka Guruswamy, representing Javed, submitted that till now six witnesses have been examined in the case and 160 witnesses remain.”I was 19 years old when I was arrested. I am Accused No.8 in the trial. I was released on bail by the Rajasthan High Court because there was no connection between me and the allegations. I am a citizen of this country and am entitled to a fair trial.”My right to a fair trial is jeopardised by the release of the film. This is the first proposition. The promise of Article 21 of the Constitution, right to fair trial, is an essential component of what it means to be a citizen in this country,” she argued.The senior counsel said the film producer has expressly said that the film is based on the case chargesheet and even the dialogues have been lifted directly from the chargesheet.She contended that the central government has exercised its revisional powers in a manner that contravenes the statutory scheme of the Cinematograph Act.Referring to the relevant law, Guruswamy said there are three kinds of revisional powers that can be exercised by the Centre — the government can say that the film cannot be broadcast; they can change the certification or they can suspend it.
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