The Punjab & Haryana High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking restoration of singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh's film Satluj, which was recently removed from an OTT platform.

The petition, filed by a Punjab resident, challenged the film's removal as arbitrary and unjustified and sought directions to make it available again for public viewing.

Satluj is based on the life of prominent Sikh human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra and depicts the alleged extra-judicial killings by the Punjab Police in the 1990s.

A Bench of Acting Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor questioned the maintainability of the PIL, observing that the petitioner was neither the director nor the producer of the film.

When the Bench raised concerns over the petitioner's locus standi, the petitioner submitted, "We will withdraw it and file it through the director."

Appearing for the Union Government and the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), Senior Advocate Dheeraj Jain, assisted by Advocate Shreyansi Verma, argued that the petition did not disclose any public cause of action. He also pointed out that the petitioner had failed to provide details of any order directing the film's removal.

Jain further informed the Court that the film was removed from the OTT platform on July 5, while the petition was filed on July 8, without the petitioner first approaching the competent authority or submitting any representation.

The Bench then asked whether the film's director had approached any authority regarding the removal. Jain replied that no such effort had been made.

The petition argued that the abrupt removal of the film, without any disclosed statutory order or judicial direction, violated the public's right to receive information and artistic expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. It also claimed that subscribers who had paid to access the content were deprived of the film without justification.

The petitioner further contended that Satluj, being a biographical film based on documented historical events and the life of Jaswant Singh Khalra, did not threaten India's sovereignty, integrity or public order. According to the plea, its removal raised serious concerns about transparency and the protection of artistic freedom.

Case Title: Sharwan Singh v. Union of India and Others