The Supreme Court Wednesday refused to stop the release of the upcoming movie ‘Udaipur Files: Kanhaiya Lal Tailor Murder’ and told the accused in the case, who had sought an urgent listing of his petition against its screening, to bring it to the court’s notice when it reopens on July 14.
The counsel for the petitioner informed a bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi that the film is due for release on Friday, July 11, and sought an urgent hearing of the plea.
Mohammed Javed, an accused in the case of the beheading of Lal, had approached the court contending that it gives a one-sided picture of things, and may prejudice the trial. The plea referred to the movie’s trailer, and said it appeared to be communally provocative.
However, the court, which is currently operating on a partial schedule, declined to grant an urgent hearing and asked the counsel to mention it once it resumes full-day operations.
On June 28, 2022, Mohammad Riyaz and Ghouse Mohammad allegedly hacked to death Kanhaiya Lal Teli at his shop in Udaipur, over a post shared by him on social media in support of then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma. The BJP leader had made comments about the Prophet during a live television debate.
Javed, 19 at the time of arrest, was the eighth person to be arrested in the case. As many as nine people were arrested in connection with the case.
As per the National Investigation Agency, Javed “had played an important role in the conspiracy of killing Kanhaiya Lal by conducting recce and passing on the information about the presence of the victim at his shop to the main killer, accused Riyaz, prior to the gruesome attack.”
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In September 2024, the Rajasthan High Court granted bail to Javed.
