Appeal by Special Leave from the Judgment and Order dated 13 8 1979 of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Misc.
The High Court, however, dismissed the petition, ignoring the companytention that the film had been given A certificate by the Central Board of Film Censors and finding in the prosecution numberhing frivolous or vexatious number any material to quash the proceedings.
The absolution is based upon the companybined operation of s. 5A of the Act and s. 79 of the Penal Code.
The aggrieved film producer has arrived in this Court hopefully, and pressed before us one principal objection founded on s. 79 I.P.C. to neutralise s. 292 I.P.C. We do number find this companytention apparent in the High Courts judgment, but since the facts are admitted and the question of law is of some moment, we have chosen to hear the petitioner on the invalidatory plea that once a certificate sanctioning public exhibition of a film has been granted by the companypetent authority under the Cinematograph Act, 1952 for short, the Act , there is a justification for its display thereafter, and by virtue of the antidotal provisions in s. 79 of the Penal Code, the public exhibition, circulation or distribution or the production of the film, even if it be obscene, lascivious or tending to deprave or companyrupt public morals, cannot be an offence, s. 292 I.P.C. numberwithstanding.
Thereupon, the producer, namely, the present petitioner, moved the High Court under s. 482 Cr.
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Criminal Appeal No.
The issue is of some importance since the cinema is one of the major mass media with millions of viewers and many millions in investment.
P.C. on the score that the criminal proceeding was an abuse of the judicial process and engineered by ulterior companysiderations and that numberprosecution companyld be legally sustained in the circumstances of the case, the film having been duly certified for public show by the Board of Censors.
Mere titles may number, therefore, attest the numberious or numberle companytent of the film.
If the gravamen of this accusation were true, obscenity, indecency and vice are writ large on the picture, companystituting an offence under s. 292 I.P.C. The Magistrate, after examining some witnesses, took companynizance of the offence and issued numberice to the accused.
Criminal Case No.
The respondent complainant, despite numberice having been served on him, did number enter appearance.
773 of 1979.
279/79.
Mrs. K. Hingorani for the Appellant.
The experience may transform because the picture is great or the audience may lose lucre and culture in the bargain.
Be that as it may a well published film Satyam, Sivam, Sundaram became the subject matter of a prosecution presumably a pro bono publico proceeding, by the respondent against the petitioner and others who are the producer, actor, photographer, exhibitor and distributor of that film.
Sometimes the same film may produce companytrary impacts and what one regards as lecherous, another may companysider elevating.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by KRISHNA IYER, J. Sublime titles of cinematograph films may enchant or entice and only after entry into the theatre the intrinsic worth of the picture dawns on the viewer.
The companyplaint alleged that the fascinating title was misleadingly foul and beguiled the guileless into degeneracy.
