SC agrees on hearing advocate Aman Panwar's plea on the stay of PM Modi's biopic

Days after the Delhi and Bombay High court rejected the PIL that sought stay on the biopic ‘PM Narendra Modi’s’ release, the Supreme court on Thursday agreed to hear a Congress leader's plea on April 8, seeking a stay on its release.

A bench headed by Justice S A Bobde said it will hear the plea on Monday.

Appearing for petitioner advocate Aman Panwar, senior advocate A M Singhvi said both the high courts (Bombay and Delhi) have refused on interfering with the biopic’s release that leads actor Vivek Oberoi.

Earlier slated to be released on April 5, the movie ‘PM Narendra Modi’ as per several media reports has been deferred by a few days, said Singhvi.

The petition filed against the release of the film stated that its release will help in boosting the image of PM Modi, thereby, influence the voters at a time when the 17th General Elections are less than a week away and when the Model Code Of Conduct (MCC) issued by the Election Commission is in force.

The Delhi High Court on Monday, April 1, had rejected the petition filed by advocate Sujeet Kumar Singh. stating that the release of the biopic before the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections will be a violation of the Model Code of Conduct.

A day later, on Tuesday, April 2, Satish Gaikwad, a resident of Pune, had further filed a petition before the Bombay High Court for the same. The stay on the release of the film is a necessity for a "transparent election", Gaikwad had reportedly said in his plea.

Earlier, Congress had also requested the EC to ban the PM Narendra Modi biopic. The National Students' Union Commission- Goa, the Congress party's student wing, urged the EC to impose a ban on the release of the biopic, alleging the movie to be a 'propaganda' by the BJP to influence the voters in the race up to the General Elections.

However, the makers of the film have maintained that the film has nothing to do with the BJP and is a self-funded film.

Directed by Omung Kumar, the biopic 'PM Narendra Modi' starrer Vivek Oberoi in the lead has been making rounds all over social media since the trailer was released.