Jamiat chief moves Delhi HC to seek stay on release of film on Kanhaiya Lal murder case

A petition has been filed before the Delhi High Court seeking to stay the release of ‘Udaipur Files’, claiming that the movie based on tailor Kanhaiya Lal murder case has potential to inflame communal tensions and disrupt public order in the country.

The petition has been filed by Maulana Arshad Madani, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind president and principal of Darul Uloom Deoband, and is likely to come up for hearing on Wednesday.

Madani has claimed in the petition that a trailer of the movie, released on June 26, 2025 was replete with dialogues and instances that had led to communal disharmony in 2022, and carries every potential to again stoke the same communal sentiments.

“The movie, in fact unabashedly depicts court scenes, the statement made by a sitting chief minister supporting one party in the case and also explicitly mentions the controversial statement made by a politician – Nupur Sharma – which had resulted in communal violence and, in turn, the gruesome murder of Kanhaiya Lal,” the petition claimed.

It said that a mere viewing of the trailer as released leaves no manner of doubt as to the plot of the movie as the trailer itself seeks to portray an entire community in a prejudicial manner, thereby violating the right to live with dignity for the members of the community.

“The trailer itself is sufficient to demonstrate its highly provocative nature, capable of creating a wedge between the communities which may cause serious disturbance to public peace and public order across the country, which had demonstrably happened with the same set of statements that are now being repeated in the movie,” it said.

The petitioner said that while the murder of Kanhaiya Lal was carried out by two fanatics, the trailer seeks to falsely portray the same as being carried out with the complicity of the religious heads/leaders of the community.

“The release of the film Udaipur Files has the potential to inflame communal tensions and disrupt public order,” the petition claimed.

The film’s release may result in “vilifying an entire religious community, foster hatred and severely undermine the fabric of religious harmony in the country which amounts to a direct contravention of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution of India, as it promotes discrimination, and threatens the right to life with dignity and security for an entire community”, it alleged.

The petition also claimed that the film violates the constitutional morality by weaponising the freedom of expression to weaken the constitutional vision of a plural, inclusive, and secular India, and instead attempts to mainstream narratives that deepen social and religious divisions.

“Artistic expression, no matter how evocative, cannot be permitted to become a vehicle to crush fraternity and uproot the ethical foundations of the nation as enshrined in the Constitution,” it said.