- The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to re-examine its earlier order and take an informed decision on stay on the release of the biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi after watching the entire movie. The SC has asked the Election commission to report back to the court on 20th April on whether the movie is to be publicly screened or not.
- Recently, the makers of the biopic had filed a plea in the Supreme Court against the stay on the release. They had alleged that the stay violated their fundamental right to free speech and expression as guaranteed by Article 19 (1) (a) of the Indian constitution.
- Exercising its powers under Article 324 of the Indian constitution, the EC had deferred the release of the biopic till the elections are over. It 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.
- The Supreme Court had earlier rejected a plea 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.
