The Accidental Prime Minister: Delhi HC dismisses plea seeking ban on trailer of Anupam Kher's Manmohan Singh biopic

The single bench of Delhi High Court has refused to entertain the plea demanding a ban on the trailer of Anupam Kher’s upcoming film The Accidental Prime Minister . The petitioner, who alleges that the film maligns and twists’ the image of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was asked by the court to go to the division bench, reports ANI.

Single bench of the Delhi High Court refuses to entertain the plea seeking ban on the trailer of the movie 'The Accidental Prime Minister. Court asks the petitioner to go to the division bench.

— ANI (@ANI) January 7, 2019

The petitioner also alleged that the trailer was jepopardising foreign relations with other countries, and affecting the “sovereignty and integrity of India.” As per  reports  in India Today, the plea also mentions how the trailer is in violation of Rule 38 of the Cinematography Act and depicts living people such as Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Manmohan Singh without their consent. The plea was also directed towards platforms like YouTube, Google, the Union government and the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

Kher plays Manmohan Singh in the biopic based on the book The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh by Sanjay Baru, who was Singh’s media advisor. There was considerable backlash from Congress, with many party members stating that the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) is using the feature to malign Congress ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. However, Congress later issued a gag order to its party members, asking them not to speak on the film till further notice.