New Delhi, February 25 – The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a plea seeking to prevent the release of the feature film ‘Yadav Ji Ki Love Story’, observing that the film’s title does not portray the Yadav community in a negative light.
A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan dismissed the writ petition challenging the film’s title, stating that mere apprehension of reputational harm to a community cannot render a film unconstitutional.
“We have reviewed the available material. The main concern is that the title of the upcoming film reflects the Yadav community in a negative way, and therefore the title should be changed. We fail to understand how the title of a film can reflect the community in a negative light,” said the bench led by Justice Nagarathna.
It added that the challenged title does not contain any adjective or expression carrying a negative connotation against the community.
“The title of the film nowhere contains any adjective or word that portrays the Yadav community in a negative light. The apprehensions are entirely unfounded,” the apex court observed, while dismissing the petition. Clarifying its recent observations in the controversy surrounding the film earlier titled “Ghooskhor Pandat”, the Supreme Court said that the present case stood on a different footing.
Distinguishing the two matters, the bench led by Justice Nagarathna said that the expression “ghooskhor” (meaning corrupt) attached a negative attribute to an identifiable community, whereas no such derogatory implication arose in the present case.
“In this case, no such negativity is attached to the Yadav community. Neither of the reasonable restrictions under Article 19(2) apply,” the apex court held.
The petition, filed by advocate Makardhvaj Yadav, seeking to prevent the release of the film, alleged that the use of the caste identifier “Yadav Ji” in the title could reinforce stereotypes and disrupt social harmony.
According to the petition, the proposed release has already triggered organized protests, representations before district authorities, and public demonstrations by members of the Yadav community in several parts of the country.
It was argued that, despite being projected as a fictional romantic drama, the film’s title and themes could contribute to social polarization in the prevailing socio-political climate.
Seeking urgent intervention ahead of the film’s scheduled nationwide release on Friday, the petition had urged the top court to grant an interim stay, submitting that any harm to community dignity would be irreversible if the movie were released before judicial scrutiny.