- The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea against the stay on the release of a biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The petition has been filed by the makers of the biopic who have alleged that the stay violated their fundamental right to free speech and expression as guaranteed by Article 19 (1) (a) of the Indian constitution.
- Recently, the Election Commission (EC) had deferred the release of the biopic till the elections are over. The EC had argued that displaying material that promotes a political figure would go against the core principle of the Model Code of Conduct of creating a level-playing field for elections.
- Further, the EC had also ordered the producers of Laxmi’s NTR (biopic on former Andhra Pradesh chief minister NT Rama Rao) and Udyama Simham (about Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao) not to screen the films until further notice.
- Earlier, the Supreme Court had dismissed a plea filed by an opposition party activist seeking a stay on the release of the biopic on Narendra Modi. The court had left it to the EC to take a call on whether the film violates the model code of conduct.
