The Bombay High Court Thursday directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to decide on the release of actor-politician Kangana Ranaut’s film “Emergency” by September 25. Zee Entertainment, co-producer of the film, accused the CBFC of deliberately stalling the release under pressure from the BJP ahead of the Haryana elections.

Senior lawyer Venkatesh Dhond, representing Zee, claimed that the CBFC was intentionally holding up the release of the film until after the October 5 Haryana Assembly elections. He argued that Ranaut, being a BJP MP, was facing opposition from her own party, which did not want a film potentially offensive to certain communities released by one of its own members.

Dhond stated, “All this is happening at the behest of the ruling party (BJP) at the Centre. They are looking at their overall interests and thus don’t want this film to be released.”

A bench of Justices Burgess Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla questioned if the delay would impact the electoral decisions of BJP voters. The judges asked, “Why would someone ruling in a state want to thwart the film made by their own member? Had it been that the state was ruled by some other opposition party, we could have considered it.”

Justice Colabawalla then asked if the BJP was acting against its own MP. Dhond said that Ranaut has been advised to “maintain discipline.”

This court had on 4 September told the CBFC to consider the objections raised by the Jabalpur Sikh Sangat and to make a decision by September 18 on whether to release the film.

However, on Thursday, the court was informed that the decision wasn’t taken as the matter has been referred to the CBFC’s revising committee. The court then directed the CBFC to resolve the issue by September 25.

“Whatever they want to do, they have to take a decision by the said date. You take a decision. Have the courage to say that the film should not be released. We will appreciate the stand of the CBFC. Don’t be a fence sitter. We will decide the issue even if you say that the film should not be released. Have that courage to say that the film should not be released,” the bench said.

The film, directed, written, and co-produced by Kangana Ranaut, is based on the life of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Ranaut is also playing Gandhi in the film. Initially scheduled for release on September 6, the film faced resistance from Sikh organisations over concerns regarding its historical accuracy and the portrayal of Sikhs.

A day before the Bombay High Court’s September 4 order, the Madhya Pradesh High Court had allowed petitioners, the Jabalpur Sikh Sangat and Sri Guru Singh Sabha, to submit detailed objections to the CBFC. They argued that certain scenes in the film violated the fundamental rights of the Sikh community, and demanded an apology from Kangana Ranaut.

The Shiromani Akali Dal also sent a legal notice to the CBFC, urging it to halt the film’s release.