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Supreme Court will hear PIL on screening Fire on December 15

The Supreme Court will hear on December 15 the public interest petition filed by eight film personalities, including Dilip Kumar and Mahesh Bhatt, seeking directions to the authorities concerned to ensure the smooth screening of Deepa Mehta's controversial film Fire in the wake of violent demonstrations against the film in Bombay and Delhi.

The hearing was fixed by a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice A S Anand, Justice M Srinivasan and Justice M B Shah on the request of the counsel for petitioners.

Taking note of the media conferences held by some of the petitioners, the Chief Justice advised that it would be better if they stopped talking to the media.

They should choose either the forum of the courts or the press. If they choose the latter forum there is no urgency in the matter, the Chief Justice added.

The petitioners, among whom were film producer Bobby Bedi, Javed Akthar, Teesta Setalvad, film critic, and Atul Setalvad, advocate, had also sought a probe into the violence allegedly perpetrated by the activists of the Shiv Sena against theatres in Bombay.

UNI

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