SC shuts plea against ‘Ghooskhor Pandat’ after filmmaker Neeraj Pandey withdraws controversial title

The Supreme Court of India on Thursday dismissed a petition challenging the title of the upcoming film previously named Ghooskhor Pandat, after filmmaker Neeraj Pandey informed the court that he had withdrawn the controversial title along with all associated promotional material.

A Bench comprising Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan recorded Pandey’s affidavit and concluded the proceedings, noting that no additional directions were required. The Bench described the filmmaker’s response as “positive”.

Filmmaker’s undertaking and court’s response

Pandey filed an affidavit undertaking that the controversial title would no longer be used in any manner and that all publicity content carrying the earlier name had been removed. Recording this development, the Nagarathna‑led Bench disposed of the petition, remarking that the controversy should now be treated as closed. During the hearing, counsel for the makers submitted that the title had already been withdrawn and that the surrounding controversy should end.

Court’s observations on future proceedings

The Supreme Court observed that once the undertaking was given and accepted, no fresh criminal proceedings should be initiated in relation to the impugned title. The Bench noted that the matter had reached an end and that no further judicial intervention was required.

Background: PIL alleging offensive stereotyping

The original public interest litigation (PIL) alleged that the film’s title and storyline promoted caste‑ and religion‑based stereotyping and hurt the dignity of the Brahmin community. The plea contended that associating the caste identifier “Pandit” with the term “ghooskhor” (bribe‑taker) created a defamatory stereotype against an identifiable community and violated several constitutional protections.

Last week, the top court had criticised the filmmakers over the title, holding that freedom of speech cannot be used to denigrate a community and indicating that the film would not be permitted for release unless the title was changed. Similarly, the Delhi High Court earlier disposed of a similar plea after Netflix submitted that it had changed the title and removed all promotional content bearing the earlier name.

(With inputs from PTI)