The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Union government whether it had the jurisdiction to recommend six cuts in the Hindi film Udaipur Files, which is reportedly based on the 2022 killing of Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal, Live Law reported.

A division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela asked the government whether revisional powers granted by Section 6 of the Cinematograph Act allow the government to pass such an order.

“You have to exercise the powers within the four corners of the statute,” the court said. “You can't go beyond that.”

The film was originally scheduled to be released on July 11. The Delhi High Court had temporarily stayed the release on July 10 and directed the Union government to examine the film’s content.

The Centre had recommended six cuts to the film, besides directing that it should be released with a disclaimer.

On Wednesday, the court questioned whether the Centre’s actions ventured into it acting as an appellate authority instead of a revisional authority, The Indian Express reported.

Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, representing the Centre and the Central Board of Film Certification, informed the court that the film had passed through a two-stage filter test, PTI reported.

First, the censor board recommended 55 cuts, followed by an additional six cuts suggested by the review committee, bringing the total to 61 edits, Sharma said.

Kanhaiya Lal killing

In June 2022, Lal, a tailor, was killed in Rajasthan’s Udaipur for purportedly sharing a social media post in support of suspended Bharatiya Janata Party Spokesperson Nupur Sharma. She had made disparaging remarks about Prophet Muhammad during a television debate in May 2022.

The assailants and several other persons accused in the matter were arrested by the Rajasthan Police. A video showed two men claiming responsibility for the killing of Lal as they brandished the cleavers used in the murder.

The murder case was investigated by the National Investigation Agency and the persons accused in the matter were charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. The trial is underway in a Special NIA Court in Jaipur.

The High Court had stayed the release of Udaipur Files while hearing a batch of petitions, including one filed by Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind chief Maulana Arshad Madani, seeking a ban on the film. The petitioners had alleged that the film is communally provocative and vilifies the Muslim community.