MUMBAI HC SNUB FOR MANEKA

Clean chit for Shogun movie
By Padmaraj Nair
Animal activist and union Minister for Social Empowerment and Justice, Maneka Gandhi could do very little to save the precious lives of over a dozen tigers in Orissa. There was more disappointing news for her from Mumbai too. The Mumbai High Court, while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the non-governmental organisation People for Animals, on July 5, dismissed their claim for quashing the Censor Certificate issued to Shogun Films’ Raja Ko Rani Se Pyar Ho Gaya.

The NGO apart from praying for cancelling of the Censor Certificate, had also requested the HC for an injunction restraining the producer from releasing the film. The chief justice of Mumbai High Court, BP Singh and Justice NJ Pandya while dismissing the PIL, stated that the CBFC has rightly issued the certificate and there is no cruelty committed to the elephant in the film. The NGO had claimed in their PIL that the elephant shown in the film was subjected to cruelty and hence the producer should be penalised with the cancellation of the censor certificate. It may be recalled that the minister Maneka Gandhi had taken a personal interest in this case and directed her representative to discuss the matter with the producer.

Producer R Mohan’s reply and assurance did not satisfy the minister.