I.

INTRODUCTION: BACKGROUND OF THE CASE

The film Bandit Queen is the story of a village child exposed from an early age to
the brutality and lust of man. Married off to a man old enough to be her father was
beaten and raped. The village boys made advances which she repulsed, but the village
panchayat found her guilty of enticement of a village boy because he was of high
caste and she had to leave the village. She was arrested and in the police station,
filthily abused. Those who stood her did so to satisfy their lust. She was kidnapped
and raped. During an act of brutality, the rapist was shot dead, and she found an ally
in her rescuer. With his assistance she gave beatings to her husband, violently.
Her rescuer was shot dead by one whose advances she had spurned. She was gang
raped by the rescuer's assailant and his accomplices and they humiliated her in the
sight of the village; a hundred men standing in a circle around the village well and
watching her being stripped naked and walked around the circle and made to draw
water, but no one came to her rescue. To avènge herself upon her persecutors, she
joined dacoit's gang and killed twenty Thakurs of the village. Ultimately she
surrendered and remained in jail for a number of vears.
The film was presented for certification to the Censor Board under the
Cinematograph Act, 1952. The Examining Committee of the Censor Board referred
it to the Revising Committee under Rule 241) Cinematograph (Certification) Rules,
1983. The Revising Committee recommended that the film be granted an 'A'
certificate, subject to certain excisions and modifications. Aggrieved by the decision
of the Revising Committee, an appeal was filed under Section 5-C of the
Cinematograph Act before the Appellate Tribunal."
The Tribunal consisted of a chairman who@vas a retired Judge of the Bombay High
Court and three ladies as members. On the basis of a unanimous o7er of the Tribunal,
the film was granted an 'A' certificate?. Thereupon the respondent filed a writ petition
before Delhi High Court seeking to quash the certificate granted to the film and to
restrain its exhibition in India. The respondent contended that though audiences were
led to believe that the film depicted the character of a former queen of ravines also
know Phoolan Devi, the depiction was "abhorrent and unconscionable and a slur on
the womanhood of India" and that the respondent and his community had been
depicted in a f2pst depraved way specially in scene of rape by one belonging to her
community (Gujjar), which scene was "suggestive of the moral depravity of the
Gujjar community"

A Division Bench of the High Court, having viewed the film, examined it regard to
three aspects viz. the frontal nudity scene relating to the incident of fetching water

______________________________
1 Wikimedia Foundation, (2021, July 24). Central board of Film Certification. Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Board_of_Film_Certification.
2 F .A. picture international y Central board of film …. (n.d.). https://www.lawyerservices.in/FA-Picture-
International-Versus-Central-Board-of-Film-Certification-Mumbai-and-Another-2004-11-05.

1
from the well which ran for full two minutes; scene showing the naked posterior of
the rapist, and use of expletives.
Overall, the Division Bench was of the view that the Tribunal's order was vitiated by
the use of the wrong tests. Allowing the appeals with costs Bandit Queen' is not a
pretty story. It is the serious and sad story of a worm turning a village-born female
child becoming a dreaded dacoit. An innocent who turns into a vicious criminal
because lust and brutality have affected her psyche so. The film levels an accusing
finger af members of society who had tormented the victim and driven her to become
a dreaded dacoit filled with the desire to revenge. The court should recognise the
message of a serious film and apply this test to the individual scenes thereof do they
advance the message? If they do they should be left alone, with only the caution of an
'A' certificate Ad Indian citizens as a whole may be relied upon to comprehend
intelligently the message and react to it, not to the possible titillation of some
particular scene.
In the first scene in question relating to her being humiliated, stripped naked, paraded
made to draw water from the well, within the circle of a hundred men, the exposure of
her breasts and genitalia to the men is intended by those who strip her to demean her.
The effect of so doing upon hg could hardly have been better conveyed than by
explicitly showing the scene. Nakedness does not always arouse the base Instinct
"Bandit Queen" tells a powerful human story and to that story the scene of her
enforced naked parade is central. It helps to explain why she became what she did her
rage and vendetta against the society that had heaped indignities upon her.
As regards the second scene in question the rape scene also helps to explain why she
became what she did Rape is crude and its crudity is what the rapist's bouncing bare
posterior is meant to illustrate Rape and sex are not being glorified in the film. Quite
the contrary, it shows what a terrible, and terrifying, effect rape and lust can have
upon the victim It focuses on the trauma and emotional turmoil of the victim to evoke
sympathy for her and disgust for the rapist. Too much need not be made of a few
swear words the like of which can be heard everyday in every city, town and village
street. No adult would be tempted to use them because they are used in this film. The
judgment under appeal does not take due note of the theme of the film and the fact
that it condemns rape and the degradation of and violence upon women by showing
their effect upon a village child,transforming her to a cruel dacoit obsessed with
wreaking vengeance upon a society that has caused her so much psychological and
physical hurt, and that the scenes of nudity and rape and the use of expletives,so far as
the Tribunal had permitted them, were in aid of the theme and intended not to arouse
prurient or lascivious thoughts but revulsion against the perpetrators and pity for the
victim.
A film that illustrates the consequences of a social evil necessarily must show that
social evil. The guidelines must be interpreted in that light. No film that extols the
social evil or encourages it is permissible, but a film that carries the message that the
social evil is evil cannot be made impermissible on the ground that it depicts the
social evil. At the same time, the depiction must be just sufficient for the purpose of
the film.

2
The drawing of the line is best left to the sensibilities of the expert Tribunal. The
Tribunal is a multi-member body It is comprised of persons who gauge public
reactions to films and, except in cases of stark breach of guidelines, should be
permitted to go about its task. The guidelines are broad standards. They cannot be
read as one would read a statute Within the breadth of their parameters the
certification authorities have discretion.
In the present case, apart from the Chairman, three members of the Tribunal were
women. It is hardly to be supposed that three women would permit a film to be
screened which denigrates women, insults. Indian womanhood or is obscene or
porographic. It would appear from its order that the Tribunal took the view that it
would do women some good to see the film. The Tribunal had viewed the film in its
true perspective and had, in compliance with the requirements of the guidelines,
granted to the film an 'A' certificate subject to the conditions it stated. The High Court
ought not to have entertained the first respondent's writ petition impugning the grant
of the certificate based as it was principally upon the slurs allegedly cast by the film
on the C-ijar community.
Therefon», the 'A' certificate Issued to the film "Bandit Queen" upon the conditions
imposed by the Appellate Tribunal is restored.

___________________________
KA. Abbas y Union of India, (1970) 2 SCC780: Raj Kapoor v. State, (1980) I SC¢ 43
1980 SCC (Cri) 72, Samaresh Bose v. Amal Mira (1985) 4 SCC 289 1985 SCC (Cri)
523: State of Bihar v. Shallabola Devi, 1952 SCR 654
AIR 1952 SC 329: Sakal Papers (P) Lid v. Union of India, (1962) 3 SCR 842 AIR
1962 SC 305. LICv. Prof Manubhai D. Shoh, (1992) 3 5CC 637

HYPOTHESIS

The film 'Bandit Queen' involves cruelty, obscenity and nudity which demorals the
society and the main character of the film. The film would have been banned.

LITERATURE REVIEW

India's Bandit Queen: True Story of Phoolan DEVI

September 1991

In February 1983, Phoolan Devi, a young woman of 26 and India's most wanted
bandit, laid down her weapons before portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and the goddess
Kali, and embraced the feet of the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh in an act of
negotiated surrender. This ceremony, which took place in front of a crowd of more
than 70,000 people in a remote village in northern India, had been organized by the
local chief of Police with the full support of Mrs Gandhi, who was fighting her last

3
election campaign. Basing her account on Phoolan Devi's diaries and letters on
interviews with her and her family, police records and eye-witness accounts, Mala
Sen tells the story of Phoolan Devi's extraordinary life from defence of her father's
land rights as a child, through arranged marriage at 11, revolt at 18 and kidnap and
rape by dacoits (bandits) at 21, to her sudden emergence as a gang leader and a living
legend. Operating from the ravines along the Chambal River - the river of revenge
Phoolan Devi had much to avenge.

I, Phoolan Devi: The Autobiography of India's Bandit Oueen

Hardcover -Import, 25 April 1996
by Phoolan Devi (Author)

This is the story of Phoolan Devi, the "Bandit Queen" who suffered poverty, abuse
and kidnap before fighting to claim retribution for herself and all low-caste women in
India. She has gained massive popular support for her actions and has become a
symbol of hope for the downtrodden. In a three-year campaign which rocked the
Indian government, she crusaded through the badlands of Uttar Pradesh, delivering
justice to rape victims and stealing from the rich of one village to give to the poor of
the next, winning massive popular support. Finally, she negotiated surrender on her
own terms. Imprisoned without trial for 11 years, Phoolan Devi remained a beacon of
hope and courage for the downtrodden. Here, she tells the story of her life through her
eyes and in her own voice.

II, SUMMARY OF THE CASE

A child-rape. An attempted rape. A gangrape by pòlice officers. A gangrape by

villagers. You lose track of how many times Phoolan Devi has been raped in Bandit
Queen - it's an excruciating watch.As women, we already Know. We Know it happens
we know how often it happens, we know when it happens. Enough. Stop torturing us
with its depiction over and over. But maybe this depiction has value for the
unmitated.o.it rank sensationalism. or an unfiltered look at the slaver millions
of indianwomen live under. that manv men refuse to see? There's no clear answer
The real Phoolan Devi believes it is the former.
Born to a poor lower-caste family, she is bartered off at age Il to
a pedophi whO buys her in exchange for a cow and a bicycle as a replacement for his ageing
mother;a house slave, except he gets to have sex with this one, how wondertul for him. The
tiny Phoolan is made to do hard labour, enduring casteism and bullying from the
Villagers.. until night comes, and her husband who is pretty much the Everyman of
much of India) awakens her to the unbearable reality of life as a poor, lower-caste girl
- especially a girl who swears like nobody's business and refuses to take sh*t from
anyone.
Unable to tolerate this new life, the indomitable Phoolan runs away from her rapist-
by-law and goes home - where she is unwelcome. Defiant, you can only see a hint of
the pain and betrayal under her anger when her parents tell her to go back because she
has no place in her own home. She stays a while, but things come to a head again
when an upper-caste Thakur attempts to rape her. She fights back, and Is brought In
front of the sarpanch, the rapist's father. There, she is publicly humiliated in a way
4
that echoes in every rape trial across the world - her character, motives and integrity
questioned, and judged lacking
as the entire village sides with the rapist. She is then
banished for being trouble to the village boys, who snicker throughout the trial
• and
With her cousin kailash
When she's with Kailash, despite the hardship she has endured, she is cheeky and
tun-loving, play-fighting and laughing, teasing her cousin mercilessly and getting
teased in return. But it doesn't last - soon, his wife asks her to move out, and she has
nowhere to go but back *home. There, she is arrested for returning despite her exile,
and is gangraped in a cell by twO
policemen who are perfectly contident in their
impunity.
The Thakurs pay Rs 25,000 as her bail money but sell her to Babu GujjarS
dacoit gang. Her father, despite his unfaltering sexism, tries to shelter her, but when
her brothers life is threatened, She gives herself up. She must have Known what that meant
for her.Babu Gujjar, like every other man in this movie, rapes her as he wishes, multiple
times. Eventually, a member of the gang, Vikram Mallah Mastana, who is Decoming
increasingly incensed by her victimisation, Kills Guyar and takes over the gang with
Phoolan. But Gujar dies with a simple gunshot to the head as he's raping her. it
seems to swift an end.new cane pulls off darine raids, always careful not to molest women
of children, and to target only the rich-she is raiding, she shouts.”If any man marries a little
girl, TIl kill him!" Phoolan is an Indian Robin Hood of sorts, if herself
and her gang count as the poor.
At one point, after Vikram is betrayed by an upper-caste Thakur - Shri Ram- and
shot, the pair flee to a doctor, who they cannot pay.. and so Phoolan takes Vikram
back to her village. Her family tells her it is only proper she go back to her husband.
Seething, she does, and it doesn't end well for Puttilal the Pedophile. She parades him
around his village on the back of a donkey, then lashes him to a post and beats him
(ostensib[y) to death in a state of high agitation - one can understand the real
Phoolan's objection to the state of unrestrained emotion she is portrayed in if it isn't
accurate. It ventures into the hysterical, which is understandable, but again… rank
sensationalism, or an attempt to throw light on the level of trauma caused by a
lifetime of oppression? The jury is still out.

. FACTS OF THE CASE

___ In 1994, Bobby Art International, a film production company, made a film titled
"Bandit Queen"' which was based on a true story about a village girl who was raped
and brutalized, and who subsequently became a member of a violent criminal gang as
a means of revenging herself upon society. The film was based on the book about the
incident written by Mala Sen. The film contained explicit scenes of rape and nudity
In July 1995, the Censor Board indicated that it would grant the film an "A"
certificate (films considered suitable for exhibition restricted to adults only) in terms
of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 (the Act) but only on the condition that certain
scenes were deleted or modified.
The Act stated that "a film shall not be certified for public exhibition if, in the opinion
5
of the authority competent to grant the certificate, the film or any part of it is against
the interests of, inter alia, decency". In addition, in 1991 the Indian Government had
issued guidelines in terms of the Act which stipulated that film certification must
ensure that "artistic expression and creative freedom are not unduly curbed" and that
"certification is responsive to social change". The guidelines also obliged the Censor
Board to ensure that "human sensibilities are not offended by vulgarity, obscenity or
depravity" and that "scenes involving sexual violence against women like attempt to
rape, rape or any form of molestation or scenes of a similar nature are avoided" and
should be kept to a minimum if absolutely necessary.
As a result of the condition that certain scenes be deleted or amended, the order of
the Censor Board was appealed to the Appellate Tribunal (the Tribunal). The Tribunal
held that the impugned scenes and the use of vernacular slurs was permissible and
added tha "to delete or to reduce these climactic visuals would be a sacrilege." By a
unanimous order of the Tribunal, an "A" certificate was granted to the film without
requiring deletion or modification of any scenes.
____________________________
*cribd. (n,.d.). Summary of BOBBY Art International Vs Om Pal Singh Hoon. Scribd.
2xps://www.scribd.com/document/479338591/SUMMARY-OF-BOBBY-ART-
INTERNATIONAL-VS-OM-PAL-SINGH-HOON.

The film was first screened on August 31, 1995 at a film festival and was opened for
public viewing on January 25, 1996. Om Pal Singh Hoon, a member of the specific
community portrayed in the film, filed a petition before the Delhi High Court seeking
the quashing of the "A" classification and a restraint on the exhibition of the film in
India on the grounds that the portrayal of the main character was "abhorrent and
unconscionable and a slur upon the womanhood of India." He also claimed that the
film portrayed his community in a depraved way and lowered his self-respect. Hoon
submitted that his rights under articles 14 (right to equality), 19 (right to freedom of
expression) and 21 (right to life and personal liberty) of the Constitution* had been
infringed.
The Court of first instance quashed the "A" classification, and ordered the Censor
Board "to consider the grant of an *A' certificate to it after excisions and
modifications in accordance with his order had been made". In addition the Court
granted an injunction against the screening of the film until a fresh certificat
been issued. Bobby Art appealed to the Division Court which upheld the judgment of
the Court of first instance, holding that "the scene of violent rape was disgusting and
revolting and it denigrated and degraded women" and that the scenes of nudity were
indecent.

CONTROVERSY

Although Phoolan Devi is a heroine in the film, she fiercely disputed its accuracy
and fought to get it banned in India. She even threatened to immolate herself outside a
theater if the film were not withdrawn. Eventually, she withdrew her objections after
the producer Channel 4 paid her £40,000. Author-activist Arundhati Roy in her film

6
review entitled, "The Great Indian Rape Trick", questioned the right to "restage the
rape of a living woman without her permission", and charged Shekhar Kapur with
exploiting Phoolan Devi and misrepresenting both her life and its meaning.
___________________
* Admin. (2020, December 14). Right to Freedom (ARTICLES 19 - 22) - freedom of speech, right to life
-UpsePolity.BYJUS.https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/right-to-freedom-articles-19-22/.

In 1994, the year of Devi's release, Kapur's film was produced, with backing from
Channel 4. The film was based on the prison diaries, and credited Mala Sen as
screenwriter, but privately it angered her. It made Phoolan out to be "pathetic", she
believed, and "its moral and political implications" she could never reconcile within
herself. She had delivered a long script, which had been heavily edited, with graphic
scenes added.
Encouraged by the writer Arundhati Roy, Devi took the film-makers - including
Mala - to court, demanding the film be banned for invading her sexual privacy by
showing the gang rape and for implicating her in a mass murder that she denied
having committed. Mala was forced to defend herself, though she suspected that Devi,
now famous worldwide, was hoodwinking everyone. Channel 4 eventually settled out
of court, paying Devi £40,000. Devi immediately ended proceedings and announced
that she now supported the film'. Mala stayed loyal to the film-makers, never
speaking publicly against the film, and claiming it was based on many sources. She
remained close to Devi in the years following, when the former outlaw underwent a
remarkable transformation, becoming an Indian MP in 1996, and they were in touch
up until Devi's assassination in 2001.

Awards

1995: National Film Award

Best Feature Film in Hindi
Best Actress: Seema Biswas
Best Costume Design: Dolly Ahluwalia
1995: Filmfare Award
Critics Award for Best Movie
1997: Filmfare Award
Best Director: Shekhar Kapur
Best Cinematographer: Ashok Mehta
Best Female Debut: Seema Biswas

_____________________________
Guardian News and Media. (201 1, June 13). Mala Sen obituary. The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jun/13/mala-sen-Obituary.

7
IV.Legal precedents

Sarkar v. West Bengal*

Case Summary and Outcome

The Supreme Court of India ruled that the semi-nude picture of Boris Becker and his
fiancée Barbara Felts was not obscene, after applying the community standards test.
The appeal was brought by a complaint filed against the newspaper and magazine that
published a photograph of renowned tennis player Boris Becker posing nude with his
fiancée Barbara Feltus, covering her breasts with his hand. The Court reasoned that
the photograph was not obscene because it did not excite sexual passion or tended to
deprave or corrupt the minds of people in whose hands the magazine or newspaper
may have fallen.
Maqbool Fida Husain v. Ra Kumar Pandey?
The High Court of Delhi held that the "Bharat Mata" painting by Maqbool Fida
Husain was not obscene under section 292 of the Indian Penal Code. The appeal was
brought by private complaints, filed in various parts of India, that were against the
famous painter Maqbol Fida Husain and his painting titled "Bharat Mata" (Mother
India), which was advertised in an online charity auction for earthquake victims.
The court reasoned that art was an important tool of expression, but that Article 19(2)
of the Indian Constitution allowed limitations on freedom of expression to be
restricted on the grounds of public decency and morality. However, by reviewing,
among other things, the intent of the artist and the idea behind the painting, the court
held that the painting did not violate section 292 of the IPC.
_________________________
• Sambhu Nath sarkar vs the state of West BENGAL & Ors on 19 April, 1973. (n.d.).
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/608557/.
7 Maqbool Fida Husain vs Raj KUMAR PANDEY [along with Crl. ... on 8 May, 2008. (n.d.).
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1191397/.

Murugan v. Tamil Nadu

Case Summary and Outcome

The Madras High Court held that the findings of a 'Peace Committee' of a local
administration, which had ordered an author to issue an unreserved apology, were not
binding, and that criminal charges should not proceed. The case had come about
because members of a religious community were offended by passages in a book
which depicted a festival as sexually promiscuous. The local administration's Peace
Committee had ordered the author to issue an unconditional apology and separately,
petitions had been brought seeking criminal, action against the author and against the
publisher.

8
Felix v. Gangadharan

Case Summary and Outcome

The Kerala High Court dismissed a petition claiming that a magazine cover depicting
a woman breastfeeding her child was obscene and in violation of a number of laws
that protect women and children. The Kerala High Court could find nothing obscene
in the picture and noted that what may be obscene to some may be artistic to others. It
went on to note how the legal test for obscenity had evolved over time to take into
account changing societal mores. It concluded that the contemporary legal test for
obscenity set by the Supreme Court of India was applicable, which looked at whether
"the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest". The Kerala High Court
found that, given the context of the picture, it could not be considered obscene under
this test.
________________________
*M.A. Felix, ERNAKULAM District V Pv. Gangadharan PRINTER ... (nd.).
https://www.lawyerservices.in/MA-Felix-Ernakulam-District-Versus-PV-Gangadharan-Printer-
and-Publisher-Mathrubhoomi-Printing-and-Publishing-Co-Ltd-Calicut-and-Others-2018-03

N. Radhakrishnan v. Union of India

Case Summary and Outcome

The Supreme Court dismissed a petition to ban a book stating that the language used
in the book could not remotely be said to be obscene, and while the language may be
disliked by some people, it is not a ground for a Constitutional Court to ban a literary
work. The Petitioner filed a Writ Petition in the Supreme Court of India seeking a ban
on a book titled 'Meesha' on the ground that a part of the book was obscene and
offended women belonging to a particular faith. The dialogue in the book that was
primarily alleged to be obscene was a dialogue where the protagonist's friend, in a
conversation with the protagonist, says that women will wear their best clothes when
going to the temple to proclaim that they are ready to enter into sex

V. Rules and Regulation

Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code."

Section 292(2) in The Indian Penal Code
262 | (2) | Whoever-
"(a) sells, lets to hire, distributes, publicly exhibits or in any manner puts into
circulation, or for purposes of sale, hire, distribution, public exhibition or
circulation, makes, produces or has in his possession any obscene book, pamphlet,
paper, drawing, painting, representation or figure or any other obscene object
whatsoever, or"
" (b) imports, exports or conveys any obscene object for any of the purposes
aforesaid, or knowing or having reason to believe that such object will be sold, let
to hire, distributed or publicly exhibited or in any manner put into circulation, or"
"(c) takes part in or receives profits from any business in the course of which he
9
knows or has reason to believe that any such obscene objects are for any of the
purposes aforesaid, made, produced, purchased, kept, imported, exported,
conveyed, publicly exhibited or in any manner put into circulation, or"
"(d) advertises or makes known by any means whatsoever that any person is
engaged or is ready to engage in any act which is an offence under this section, or
that any such obscene object can be procured from or through any person, or
"(e) offers or attempts to do any act which is an offence under this section, shall be
punished [on first conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term
which may extend to two years, and with fine which may extend to two thousand
rupees, and, in the event of a second or subsequent conviction, with imprisonment
of either description for a term which may extend to five years, and also with fine
which may extend to five thousand rupees!°].'
_____________________________
° Section 292(2) in The Indian Penal Code, INDIANKANOON, https://indian
(last Visiled Jul 28, 202))
Kanoon.or/d..76708/

Section 79
Section 79 in The Indian Penal Code

79. "Act done by a person justified, or by mistake of fact believing himself justified,
by law. Nothing is an offence which is done by any person who is justified by law,
or who by reason of a mistake of fact and not by reason of a mistake of law in good
faith, believes himself to be justified by law, in doing it!!."
Section 482 in The Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973
482. "Saving of inherent powers of High Court. Nothing in this Code shall be deemed
to limit or affect the inherent powers of the High Court to make such orders as may be
necessary to give effect to any order under this Code, or to prevent abuse of the
process of any Court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice!?."
VI. ISSUES INVOLVED
1. Whether the film is obscene, lewd, lascivious and was likely to
corrupt and deprave the minds of the people.
2. Whether the statutory guidelines issued by the Central Government
were kept in mind while examining the film
__________________________
" Section 79 in The Indian Penal Code, INDIANKANOON,
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1918278/#:-:text=79.by%20law%2C%20in %20doing%20it. (Last
visited Jul 28, 2021).
12 Section 482 in The Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973, INDIANKANOON,
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1679850/ (last visited Jul 28, 2021).

VII. Arguments by PETITIONER

Issue 1.

The definition of obscenity has been given by the Supreme Court as the quality of
being obscene which means offensive to modesty or decency; lewd, filthy and
repulsive. Distinction between obscenity and indecency is that while everything

10
obscene is indecent, everything indecent is not obscene. Obscenity is quite repulsive
and provocative. Vulgarity is another aspect of it.
Council would like to contend that Bandit Queen is not a pretty story. There are no
syrupy songs or pirouetting round trees. It is the serious and sad story of a worm
turning: a village born female, becoming a dreaded dacoit. An innocent who turns into
a vicious criminal because lust and brutality have affected her psyche so. The film
levels an accusing finger at members of society who had tormented Phoolan Devi and
driven her to become a dreaded dacoit filled with the desire for revenge.
It is in this light that the individual scenes have to be viewed on which the
respondent has shown their concerns.
The rape is crude illustrate. what a terr on the trat disgust for.
First, the scene where she is humiliated, stripped naked, paraded, made to draw
water from the well, within the circle of a hundred men. is intended by those who strip
her to demean her. The effect of so doing upon her could hardly have been better
conveyed than by explicitly showing the scene. The object of doing so was not to
titillate the cinema-goer's lust but to arouse in him sympathy for the victim and
disgust for the perpetrators. The revulsion that referred to, was not at Phoolan Devi's
nudity but at the sadism and heartlessness of those who had stripped her naked to rob
her of every share of dignity; Nakedness does not always arouse the baser incident.
____________________________
13 *,N. (nd.). Bobby art INTERNATIONAL, V. Om Pal Singh HOON & ors. India.
https://india.lawi_asia/bobby-art-interational-v-om-pal-singh-hoon-and-ors/

'Bandit Queen' tells a powerful human story and to that story the scene of Phoolan
Devi's enforced naked parade is central. It helps to explain why Phoolan Devi became
what she die: her rage and vendetta against the society what had heaped indignities
upon her. That's why it is important to show.
Therefore, it is not the elements of rape, leprosy, sexual immorality which should
attract the censor's scissors but how the theme is handled by the producer. It must,
however, be remembered that the cinematograph is a powerful medium and its appeal
is different. The horrors of war as depicted in the famous etching of Goya do not
horrify one so much as the same scenes rendered in colour and with sound and
movement would do. Council would like to contend that We may view a documentary
on the erotic tableaux from our ancient temples with equanimity of read the
Kamasutra but documentary from them as a practical sexual guide would be
abhorrent.
The rape scene also helps to explain why Phoolan Devi become what st did. Rape
is crude and its crudity is what the rapist's bouncing bare posterior » meant to
illustrate. Rape and sex are not being glorified in the film. Quite the contrary. It shows
what a terrible, and terrifying, effect rape and lust can have upon the victim. It focuses
on the trauma and emotional turmoil of the victim to evoke sympathy for her and
disgust for the rapist.
"Art, morals and law's manacles on aesthetics are sensitive subject where
jurisprudence meets other social sciences and never goes alone to bark and bite
because State-made strait-jacket is an inhibitive prescription for a free country unless
enlightened society actively participates in the administration of justice to esthetics"
The world's greatest paintings, sculptures, songs and dances, India's lustrous heritage,
11
the Konaraks and Khajurahos, lofty epics, luscious in patches, may be asphyxiated by
law, if prudes and prigs and State moralists prescribe paradigms and prescribe
heterodoxie.
The counsel would like to seek reliance on the few caes: In Lady Chatterley's Lover, the
Supreme Court stated that "Sex and nudity in art and
literature cannot be regarded as evidence of obscenity without something more. If the
rigid test of treating with sex as the minimum ingredient were accepted, then hardly
any writer of fiction today would escape the fate Lawrence had in his days"
All sex or sex connected matters are therefore not obscenity amounting to indecency.
In K.A. Abbas v. Union of India'. "the Supreme Court observed that it was wrong to
classify sex as essentially obscene or even indecent or immoral. The Court criticized
the failure of parliament and the central government to separate the artistic and
socially valuable from the obscene and indecent. It said that the law showed more
concern for the depraved rather than the ordinary moral man"
In sum, counsel would like to say that we should recognise the message of a serious
film and apply this test to the individual scenes thereof: do they advance the message?
If they do, they should be left alone, with only the caution of an 'A' certificate. Adult
Indian citizens as a whole may be relied upon to comprehend intelligently the
message and react to it, not to the possible titillation of some particular scene.

Issue 2
The film had been scrutinised by the Tribunal, which was an expert body constituted
for that purpose, and it had passed the test of such scrutiny. It was emphasised that
three members of the four-member Tribunal were ladies and they had not found
anything offensive in the film as certified for adult viewing. The guidelines, it was
submitted, required the film did not offend either Section 5-8(i) or the guidelines.
The guidelines mentioned have been carefully drawn. the authorities concerned with
film certification to be responsive to the values and standards of society and take note
of social changes. They are requiggd to ensure that 'artistic expression and creative
freedom are not unduly curbed". The film must be "judged in its entirety from the
point of view of its over-all impact". It must also be judged in the light of the period
depicted and the contemporary standards of the people to whom it relates, but it must
14 1971 AIR 481, 1971 SCR (2) 446

not deprave the morality of the audience. Clause * requires that human sensibilities
are not offended by vulgarity, obscenity or depravity, that scenes degrading or
denigrating woman are not presented an scenes of sexual violence against women are
avoided, but if such scenes are germane to the theme, they be reduced to a minimum
and not particularised. And which has been clearly followed by the Tribunal in
granting the certificate.
The guidelines are broad standards. They cannot be read as one would read a statue.
Within the breath of their parameters the certification authorities have discretion. The
specific sub-clauses of clause 2 of the guidelines cannot overweigh the sweep of
clauses 1 and 3 and, indeed, of sub-clause (ix) of clause (2). Where the theme is of
social relevance, it must be allowed to prevail. Such a theme does not offend human
sensibilities nor extol the degradation or denigration of women. It is to this end that
sub-clause (ix) of clause 2 permits scenes of sexual violence against women, reduced

12
to a minimum and without details, if relevant to the theme. What minimum and lack
of details should be is left to the good sense of the certification auth
determined in the light of the relevance of the social theme of the film.
In the present case, apart from the Chairman, three members of the Tribunal were
woman. It is hardly to supposed that three women would permit a film be screened
which denigrates women, insults India womanhood or is obscene or pornographic.
We would like to contend that the Tribunal had viewed the film in true perspective
and had, in compliance with the requirements of the guidelines, granted to the film an 6
not deprave the morality of the audience. Clause * requires that human sensibilities
are not offended by vulgarity, obscenity or depravity, that scenes degrading or
denigrating woman are not presented an scenes of sexual violence against women are
avoided, but if such scenes are germane to the theme, they be reduced to a minimum
and not particularised. And which has been clearly followed by the Tribunal in
granting. the certificate.
The guidelines are broad standards. They cannot be read as one would read a statue.
Within the breath of their parameters the certification authorities have discretion. The
specific sub-clauses of clause 2 of the guidelines cannot overweigh the sweep of
clauses 1 and 3 and, indeed, of sub-clause (ix) of clause (2). Where the theme is of
social relevance, it must be allowed to prevail. Such a theme does not offend human
sensibilities nor extol the degradation or denigration of women. It is to this end that
sub-clause (ix) of clause 2 permits scenes of sexual violence against women, reduced
to a minimum and without details, if relevant to the theme. What minimum and lack
of details should be is left to the good sense of the certification authorities, to be
determined in the light of the relevance of the social theme of the film.
In the present case, apart from the Chairman, three members of the Tribunal were
woman. It is hardly to supposed that three women would permit a film be screened
which denigrates women, insults India womanhood or is obscene or pornographic.
We would like to contend that the Tribunal had viewed the film in true perspective
and had, in compliance with the requirements of the guidelines, granted to the film an
'A' certificate subject to the conditions it stated.

VIII. CONCLUSION
Hence, a film that illustrates the consequences of a social evil necessarily must
show that social evil. The guidelines must be interpreted in that light. No film that
extols the social evil or encourages it is permissible, but a film that carries the
message that the social evil is evil cannot be made impermissible on the ground
that it depicts the social evil. At the same time, the depiction must be just
sufficient for the purpose of the film. The drawing of the line is best left to the
sensibilities of the expert Tribunal. The Tribunal is a multi-member body. It is
composed of persons who gauge public reactions to film and, except in case of
stark breach of guidelines, should be permitteg. to go about its task. Therefore, the
appeal of the petitioner must be allowed, and the 1st respondent's writ petition
must be dismissed and the "a" certificate issued to the film "Bandit Queen" upon
the conditions imposed by the Appellate Tribunal should be restored.
Decision: The Court reversed the decision of the Delhi High Court. It held that since
the Tribunal (Censor Board) had viewed the film in true perspective' and granted the

13
film an "A' certificate, and since the Tribunal was an expert body capable of judging
public reactions to the film, its decision should be followed. The Court dismissed the
first respondent's writ petition. The Court observed that a film that illustrates the
consequences of a social evil necessarily must show that social evil. We find that the
(High Court) judgement does not take due notice of the theme of the film and the fact
that it condemns rape and degradation of violence upon women by showing their
effect upon a village child, transforming her to a cruel dacoit obsessed with wreaking
vengeance upon a society that has caused her so much psychological and physical
hurt, and that the scenes of nudity and rape and use of expletives, so far as the
Tribunal had permitted them, were in aid of the theme and intended not to arouse
prurient or lascivious thoughts but revulsions against the perpetrators and pity for the
victim'
A Remarkable judgment outlining the law of obscenity as it stands in India, in a
nutshell, while holding Bandit Queen to have been rightly passed by the Censors, held
it not to obscene as it is no manner appeals to the prurient interests or is lascivious -
or corruptive to the minds of people whose minds are open to such immoral
influences, it does not titillate rather reflect the agony of a woman gang raped and is a
saga of her revenge. It negated the argument that once censor board passes the movie - IPC
would stand limp - The Courts can still peruse and scrutinize to see whether
obscenity is there or not, though censor board certification is of course persuasive.

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