Madras HC junks advocate's plea to ban or regulate Karuppu movie

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Thursday rejected a petition seeking a ban or regulation of the recently released Tamil movie Karuppu starring Suriya and Trisha and directed by RJ Balaji, over allegations that the movie portrayed the Indian judiciary in a negative light.

When the matter came up before the vacation bench comprising Justices GR Swaminathan and V Lakshminarayanan, the judges orally observed that India is a free country where anyone can express their views, adding that there are lawyers who indulge in unethical practices and judges involved in corruption, making it a matter of introspection. The bench then dismissed the plea.

The plea was filed by advocate RS Tamilvendan of Kodambakkam. He submitted that the Indian judicial system is a unique, independent, and integrated institution.

He stated that he was shocked after watching the movie, alleging that it had completely damaged the image of the judicial system. He further stated that the film had damaged the Constitution, courts, judges, and advocates.

He also noted that in one of the scenes in the movie, a judge was shown as being involved in bribery and consuming drugs and argued that such scenes were against the Constitution and damaged the reputation of judges. Tamilvendan submitted that if the movie continued to run in theatres and on OTT platforms, the public would start losing trust in the judicial system.

The petitioner also submitted that although he had sent representations to the Secretaries of the Home department and the Information and Public Relations department, and the Chief Executive Officer of the CBFC, and no action had been taken so far, which prompted to approach the High Court.