The bench was hearing a petition by filmmaker Pankaj Butalia, who complained about the Censor Board’s refusal to clear his documentary, Textures of Loss. The documentary features interviews of people who lost their kin because of the conflict and violence in Kashmir. Some of them condemned the country and the Army, while others spoke about jihad. The Censor Board sought some cuts in the documentary, but Butalia maintained he was merely depicting opinions. He challenged the board’s decision before the appellate body but when that did not work, he moved the apex court.
On Monday, a bench of Justices Vikramjit Sen and C Nagappan asked, “Why is it one-sided? Where is the alternate picture? We don’t know why it has become fashionable and a question of human rights to talk about one side of a story. Rights are always conferred on two parties and not only on one of them… this is what is happening with activists.”
