A Delhi court will hear arguments against documentary filmmaker Leena Manimekalai on 29 August in a plea alleging that promotional material for the film-maker's upcoming documentary 'Kaali' "depicts a Hindu deity in an objectionable manner."
The plea, which was scheduled for hearing on Saturday, 6 August, was adjourned because the judge was on leave.
The petitioner and advocate behind the plea, Raj Gaurav, also filed an application for submitting additional documents as evidence on record.
“The plaintiff seeks to file additional documents which are tweets that are directly related to the case of the plaintiff and which may affect the merits of the case,” the application said.
The petitioner's plea states that the promotional poster and videos of 'Kaali,' which show the goddess smoking holding an LGBTQ flag, "hurts religious sentiments."
The plea was filed under Section 295 of the Indian Penal Code for insulting or hurting religious sentiments. The plea, which was filed in Haridwar, levels this accusation against the film-maker as well as 10 other members of her team.
The petitioner stated that the additional evidence could not be submitted at the time of filing the suit since the film-maker posted the tweets later on.
On 11 July, Additional Senior Civil Judge Abhishek Kumar had issued summons to the film-maker and said that she needs to be heard before any order was passed.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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