High Court to hear Amol Palekar's plea against pre-censorship of dramas and plays after a decade

After a decade-long wait, the Bombay High Court on Thursday (November 6, 2025) said it will hear in December a petition filed by actor Amol Palekar seeking protection of artistic freedom, which he claimed was being violated by rules that mandate pre-censorship of scripts of plays/dramas.

Mr. Palekar's counsel, Anil Anturkar, urged a bench of Justices Riyaz Chagla and Farhan Dubash to take up for hearing the petition filed way back in 2016. The petitioner (Palekar) is 85 years old now and wants an outcome, be it positive or negative, to his petition, Mr. Anturkar told the court.

The court agreed and said it would hear the plea on December 5.

The actor's counsel said the issue is only whether under the provisions of the Bombay Police Act, the police has the authority of pre-censorship of dramas and plays. "We are now in an era where there is no censorship of shows and series on OTTs," Mr. Anturkar said.

In September 2017, the High Court had admitted Mr. Palekar's petition but it was never taken up for final hearing since then. Mr. Palekar, in his petition, challenged rules which makes pre-censorship of the scripts of plays mandatory by the Maharashtra State Performance Scrutiny Board.

In his plea, the acclaimed actor has said the rules are 'arbitrary' and violative of the fundamental rights of a citizen guaranteed under the Constitution of India.

Under Section 33 (1) (wa) of the Bombay Police Act, the Commissioner of Police or Superintendent of Police can frame rules for Licensing and Controlling Places of Public Amusement (other than cinemas) and Performance for Public Amusement, including Melas and Tamashas.

By these rules, for regulation in the interest of public order, decency or morality, prior scrutiny of such performances and of the script was made mandatory, after which a certificate would be issued subject to conditions.

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"This pre-censorship leads to curtailment of artistic freedom. Because of this, many historic plays have not been performed in its original form," the petition said.