Supreme Court closes plea over ‘Ghooskhor Pandat’ after title withdrawn

The Supreme Court of India on Thursday disposed of a petition challenging the film earlier titled ‘Ghooskhor Pandat’ after the makers informed the court that the contentious name had been formally withdrawn.

A Bench comprising Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan took on record an affidavit filed by filmmaker Neeraj Pandey, stating that the disputed title would not be used “in any manner whatsoever” and that all publicity material bearing the name had been removed.

Recording the undertaking, the Bench observed that no further directions were necessary and closed the proceedings. The court also noted that, in view of the assurance given, no fresh criminal proceedings should be initiated in connection with the withdrawn title.

The public interest litigation (PIL) had alleged that the film’s title and storyline promoted caste- and religion-based stereotyping and offended the dignity of the Brahmin community. The petitioner argued that combining the caste identifier “Pandit” with the term “ghooskhor” (bribe-taker) created a defamatory association and infringed constitutional safeguards.

During earlier hearings, the apex court had expressed strong reservations over the nomenclature, remarking that freedom of speech and expression could not be used as a licence to denigrate a community. The Bench had indicated that the film would not be allowed to release unless the title was changed, and issued notice to the Centre, the Central Board of Film Certification and the filmmaker.

In his affidavit, Pandey clarified that the title had been unequivocally withdrawn and asserted that the film does not target or insult any religion or community.

In a parallel proceeding, the Delhi High Court had earlier disposed of a similar plea after Netflix submitted that it would alter the film’s title and had removed promotional content carrying the earlier name from social media platforms. Taking the statement on record, the single-judge Bench observed that no further directions were required.

With the latest undertaking before the apex court, the controversy surrounding the film’s original title has now been brought to a close.

With IANS input