Delhi High Court allows release of Ranveer Singh's Jayeshbhai Jordaar with warnings against female foeticide

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday allowed the release of Ranveer Singh starrer Jayeshbhai Jordaar after the film's producers agreed to include disclaimers in scenes depicting pregnant women getting ultrasounds..A Bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Manoj Kumar Ohri directed the producers, Yash Raj Films, to include a disclaimer that female infanticide is a punishable offence at other scenes where references are made to the sex on an unborn child..The Court also recorded the submission of Senior Advocate Jayant Mehta, appearing for the producers, that the disclaimer will also be added in the official promotional videos and trailers available on YouTube and other social media, as well as Over The Top (OTT) platforms, if the movie is released there later. "The learned senior counsel, without prejudice to his submissions, has agreed to depict a further static warning/disclaimer during the running of both the scenes... The senior counsel submits that similar warning/disclaimer will be depicted on all formats on the trailer and Youtube...Respondent-4 (producer) is bound by the statements made by the senior counsel on its behalf," the Court noted in its order. .The Court was dealing with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by an NGO named Youth Against Crime through Advocate Pawan Prakash Pathak. The plea demanded that a scene in Jayeshbhai Jordaar which shows a clinic where sex determination can be done, should be removed from the movie.It was argued that though the movie is based on the theme of female infanticide and aims to promote awareness on saving girl children, its promo and trailer advertises the use of ultrasound for sex determination, which is prohibited under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994..While hearing the same plea on Monday, a Bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Chawla had observed that there was nothing in the trailer to show that pre-natal sex-determination is a crime. The judges said that an issue like female infanticide cannot be trivialized and that they would not allow the release of the film until they see the scene where a woman is taken to a clinic for an ultrasound. The Court had asked the counsel appearing for the movie producers to submit a clip of the relevant scene. .Jayeshbhai Jordar: Delhi High Court will not allow release until it sees sex determination scene in Ranveer Singh film.After watching the trailer as well as the relevant scenes on Monday and Tuesday, the Court suggested that a disclaimer should be included in the trailers as well as in the scene in question. While the judges also suggested that the disclaimer should come in the centre of the screen, Mehta said that it would be difficult. After watching the scenes with the disclaimer and after examining the contextual portion of the movie, the Bench noted that the film was indeed against female foeticide and was ridiculing people who resort to such practices. "Look at the context in which it is coming. It is saying people, 'look to what extent you are going'. There is one scene where they are asking a goat. They are ridiculing people who do these kinds of superstitious things. They are showing it as an ill," Justice Chawla said. The Bench added that judges are not here to analyse a movie. .Mehta cited several judgments of the Supreme Court as well as various High Courts related to film certification and depiction of social evils. He referred to the judgments in cases related to Bandit Queen, Padmavat as well as Gangubai Kathiawad. "The courts have repeatedly said that the film must be viewed in its entirety. The court said that films that show social evils cannot be made impermissible on the ground that it depicts social evils. This is what we are doing," he told the Bench. .The movie is scheduled for release on May 13.