The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a plea by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) seeking to block the release of film Nanak Shah Fakir. The film based on first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak, is set for release on Friday. The court will take the matter up on Monday.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud told petitioner Satinder Singh Gulati that the Central Board of Film Certification has already cleared the film for release.
It also said that outsiders cannot control freedom of expression of an artist. Gulati told the court that by a 2003 resolution, the SGPC has said that no one can act as any of the 10 Sikh Gurus, their family members and the Panj Pyaras.
He mentioned the plea for an urgent hearing. The apex court was also told that till date, in the last 550 years, no one has depicted the role of the 10 Sikh Gurus.
Gulati urged the court to hear the matter on Friday, but Chief Justice Misra said: "We will take it up on Monday."