Padmaavat to release on January 25

The Supreme Court cleared the release of Sanjay Leela Bansali’s film Padmaavat on January 25th and stayed the ban orders issued by the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana. This is seen as a big boost to the artistic freedom of speech and expression.

The Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor starter will be released pan-India.The bench comprising of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A.M.Kanwilkar and D.Y.Chandrachud said that the right to freedom of speech and expression particularly in the celluloid medium cannot be curtailed in any manner. They also held that if the States continue with the ban, they will be liable for contempt of court.