SC refuses plea to ban or rename film ‘Yadav Ji Ki Love Story’

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to stop the release of the film Yadav Ji Ki Love Story or direct a change in its title, observing that the name of the film does not portray the Yadav community in a bad light.

A Bench of Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan dismissed the petition filed by the chief of the Vishwa Yadav Parishad. The petitioner had contended that the title would harm the image of the Yadav community and create an offensive stereotype.

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The Court, however, said it could not see how the title, by itself, defamed any community. It observed that the name does not contain any negative word or description against the Yadav community. The judges described the fears raised in the petition as unfounded.

The Bench also clarified that this case was different from the earlier matter concerning the film Ghooskhor Pandat. In that case, the word “ghooskhor” meant corrupt and carried a negative meaning. In the present case, no such adverse expression is attached to the community’s name. The Court added that none of the reasonable restrictions under Article 19(2) of the Constitution were attracted.

During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel also objected to the way the female lead was portrayed and said the film claimed to be based on a true story. The Court, however, treated the film as a work of fiction and found no ground to interfere.