Centre & IAF move Delhi HC against Dharma's Gunjan Saxena biopic; court issues notice

The Central Government and the Indian Air Force on Wednesday have moved the Delhi High Court seeking an injunction against Dharma Productions' Netflix release 'Gunjan Saxena- The Kargil Girl', alleging that it depicts the IAF in a bad light. The Delhi High Court has refused to grant injunction at this stage, stating that the petition should have been filed earlier. The court has asked for Gunjan Saxena to be made a party to the case.

For now, there will not be a stay on the movie because it has been released for weeks, the court said, adding it will hear the matter on September 18. A notice has been issued to both Dharma Productions and Netflix India. 

Plea against Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl

Last Friday, the High Court had directed the Centre to treat as representation a PIL seeking a stay on the streaming of the movie

"The shoulders of the armed forces are broad enough to protect its reputation" and if the IAF has any objections "let them take it up", the court said. A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan disposed of the plea by an NGO against the film starring Janhvi Kapoor.

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"Why this kind of sensitivity to a movie or a book? Are our institutions so weak?", the bench said. It also questioned the legal basis for claiming that IAF has to be shown in a good light and not otherwise.

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It directed the Centre to decide the representation in accordance with the law, rules, regulations and government policy applicable to the case. The NGO, Justice For Rights Foundation, alleged that some scenes and dialogues in the movie are factually incorrect, misleading and portray an inappropriate work culture to glorify the screen character of the former Flight Lieutenant Gunjan Saxena.

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It told the court that as per the initial understanding, Dharma Production, which produced the film, had promised to represent the IAF authentically and to make all efforts to ensure that the film helps inspire the next generation of IAF officers. To this, the bench said that if the IAF was aggrieved by it, let it take action. "The IAF is alive to the situation. Let them take action," it said.

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(with PTI inputs)