SC nixes SGPC's plea seeking stay on Nanak Shah Fakir

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to give an urgent hearing to Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) seeking a stay on the Friday release of Punjabi film 'Nanak Shah Fakir'.The SGPC pleaded to the apex court's three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, that it is the statutory religious body having genuine religious grievance against anyone playing the role of a Sikh Guru or his relative in the film.

The apex court said even if the SGPC is a statutory religious body it cannot interfere with the certificate, given by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), for public screening of the film granted by the Censor Board.Refusing SGPC's repeated request for hearing of its petition either on Thursday or Friday, the bench said,'Once the CBFC gives clearance, no one can object to release of a film without taking recourse to lawful means.'(UNI)