A public interest litigation filed in the High Court of Madras to ban the movie Sivaji was taken up for hearing by Chief Justice A.P. Shah. Reportedly, the CJ had commented that the world has seen the movie so what is the point in banning it now?

Readers may be aware that M. Sathyamurthy, a congress worker based in Chennai, filed a petition in the High Court aggrieved by some scenes in Sivaji wherein a one-foot high photograph with the villain Suman flanked by Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is shown. He had also sought an order to restrain the movie from being aired on TV and ban the sale of VCDs and DVDs of the same. The petitioner also claimed huge damages to the tune of Rs. 50 crores.

According to the senior counsel, P.S. Raman, representing Rajinikanth, the AVM Productions and director Shankar, the scene passes off in a jiffy and there was no malicious intention on his client’s part to defame Congress party. He, further requested, the Judges to dismiss the case.

Opining that everyone has already seen the movie including him, the Chief Justice said that the matter would be taken up for enquiry by a bench comprising Justices Mukhopadyay and K. Suguna.