Diljit Dosanjh in ‘Sutluj’ | Picture Credit score: ZEE5
A public curiosity litigation (PIL) was filed within the Punjab and Haryana Excessive Courtroom on Thursday (July 9, 2026), in search of restoration of Diljit Dosanjh-starrer movie Satluj that was eliminated simply days after its digital launch on an OTT platform.
The petition stated the elimination of the movie, primarily based on activist Jaswant Singh Khalra’s efforts to uncover alleged disappearances throughout Punjab’s insurgency period, with none public statutory or judicial order, “is violative of the constitutionally assured freedom of expression and residents’ proper to info”.
Petitioner Sharwan Singh has named the Central authorities, the Central Board of Movie Certification (CBFC), the Punjab authorities, Zee Leisure Enterprises Restricted, and ZEE5 as respondents within the petition.
“The abrupt elimination of the movie, with out disclosure of any statutory order, judicial route or lawful authority, has not solely curtailed the basic proper of the general public to obtain info and inventive expression underneath Article 19 (1) (a) of the Structure of India however has additionally disadvantaged 1000’s of bona-fide subscribers of entry to content material for which that they had already paid consideration,” the petition stated.
The PIL stated the sudden withdrawal of the movie primarily based upon documented historic occasions and the lifetime of a human rights defender whose case has already been adjudicated upon by constitutional courts has given rise to severe considerations relating to transparency, freedom of inventive expression, and the doable existence of undisclosed govt interference.
“The movie Satluj is a biopic primarily based upon true information and the life story of late Jaswant Singh Khalra and doesn’t have an effect on the sovereignty and integrity of our nation in any method neither is it aimed to disrupt public order,” it stated.
In the meantime, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has stated it might display “Satluj” throughout Punjab.
“That is aimed toward guaranteeing that at present’s youth and our coming generations know concerning the unspeakable tragedy and repression unleashed by the then Congress governments towards Bhai Jaswant Singh Khalra and 1000’s of different harmless Sikh youth who have been eradicated by means of faux encounters,” Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal stated in an announcement on Wednesday (July 8, 2026).
Revealed – July 09, 2026 09:06 pm IST
