In a fast-developing legal standoff over cinema, the producers of the film ‘Udaipur Files’ have moved the Supreme Court of India, challenging the Delhi High Court’s last-minute stay order that halted the movie’s nationwide release just a day before it was scheduled to hit theatres.

 

The film, which dramatizes the 2022 killing of Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal, had already secured Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) clearance after over 50 cuts. Despite that, the Delhi High Court, on 10 July 2025, directed a stay on its release citing concerns about communal tension and public peace.

 

 

The High Court bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Anish Dayal passed the interim order in a petition filed by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and others. The petitioners alleged that even after the cuts, the film promoted a selective and incendiary portrayal that could inflame religious sentiments.

 

The court instructed the petitioners to file a revision application under Section 6 of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 with the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. In the meantime, the release was frozen. The court also ordered a private screening of the film to be arranged for the petitioners and the Centre to assess its impact before it is allowed to reach the public.

 

This decision came just a day before the scheduled release 11 July 2025 derailing distribution plans and ticket sales across India.

 

 

Producer Amit Jani, who led the appeal to the Supreme Court, has alleged that the High Court’s stay order amounts to “judicial overreach”, especially since the statutory process under the Cinematograph Act had already been followed and the film had received certification from the CBFC.

 

Appearing before a Supreme Court vacation bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, the filmmakers argued that the High Court’s interim order effectively bypassed the film certification process and imposed an “unwarranted pre-censorship” on the content.

 

“We had made all required edits, complied with every certification norm, and booked screens across the country. This stay order issued just hours before release has brought everything to a halt,” said a lawyer representing the film.

 

The Supreme Court agreed to hear the petition and is likely to take up the matter in the coming days.

 

• Can a certified film be stayed by courts without government review?

The filmmakers argue that the Delhi High Court preemptively stalled the release without giving the Union Government a chance to act on the Section 6 revision.

• Does the stay violate Article 19(1)(a)?

The petition contends that the order interferes with the right to free speech and expression.

• What is the threshold for invoking communal harmony concerns?

Petitioners in the High Court had flagged concerns over “selective portrayal of facts” and possible incitement but the producers claim that CBFC clearance should protect artistic content unless direct law-and-order threats are evident.

 

This case could set a precedent on how far courts can go in halting artistic works that already passed regulatory checks. The outcome may redefine the balance between freedom of expression and preventive judicial intervention, especially in politically and communally sensitive narratives.

 

The Supreme Court’s decision is expected to come soon, potentially even before the Centre makes a final call on the film’s review. For now, ‘Udaipur Files’ remains off the screens, caught between legal crossfire and questions of constitutional liberty.