Dr. AR. LAKSHMANAN, J. - (1.) The appellant in the present matter is Doordarshan who have decided not to telecast the documentary film made by the respondent titled "Father, Son and Holy War". The respondent is a filmmaker. The respondent No.1 in 1995 submitted his documentary film, "Father, Son and Holy War", to the appellant for telecast on National network Doordarshan. Respondent No.1 was to provide a U-matic Certificate for the same to be aired by Doordarshan.
(2.) The documentary film was in two parts, the film dealt with social realities and issues such as patriarchy, violence, fundamentalism, suppression of women etc. Part-I was given U Certificate and Part-II was given A Certificate by the Censor Board.
(3.) A few lines about the film and the producer:- Father, Son and Holy War is the third part of a trilogy of documentary films against communal violence that the author made from the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s. His two earlier films In Memory of Friends (1990) (on building communal peace in strife torn Punjab) and Ram Ke Naam/In the Name of God (1992) (on the Ayodhya crisis) looked at the question of class and caste. Both films won National Awards but both were rejected by Doordarshan on the grounds that they would create law and order problems. In the end, the author won the cases in the High Court and the films were finally telecast by Doordarshan. No law and order problems resulted and the telecasts were well received.;