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New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the producer of “Udaipur Files”, a movie based on tailor Kanhaiya Lal murder case, to arrange its screening for those seeking a ban on it.

The court‘s direction came after the makers claimed objectionable portions have been removed from the film.

The bench was hearing petitions claiming that the movie has potential to inflame communal tensions and disrupt public order in the country.

A division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Anish Dayal directed the producers to arrange the screening for the counsel representing the petitioners on Wednesday itself and posted the matter for Thursday.

The bench passed the directions after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) told the court that the offending parts of the movie have been removed.

The petitions, including one filed by Maulana Arshad Madani, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind president and principal of Darul Uloom Deoband, have claimed that a trailer of the movie released on June 26 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.

Kanhaiya Lal, an Udaipur-based tailor, was murdered in June 2022, allegedly by Mohammad Riyaz and Mohammad Ghous.

The assailants had later released a video claiming the murder was in reaction to the tailor allegedly sharing a social media post in support of former BJP leader Nupur Sharma after her controversial comments on Prophet Mohammed.

The case was probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and accused were booked for offence under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) besides provisions under the Indian Penal Code.

The trial is pending before the special NIA court in Jaipur.