Delhi High Court Rejects Urgent Hearing of PIL to Lift Ban on 'India's Daughter'

The Delhi High Court on Monday rejected that a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to remove the ban on the documentary film "India's Daughter" needed to be heard on priority. 

The PIL filed by two law students will now be heard on Wednesday as scheduled; the petitioners had asked for a hearing on Monday.   

"It will be listed on Wednesday. Nothing so important, that it needs to be heard today," Justice BD Ahmed and Justice Vibhu Bakhru said, according to a report in The Economic Times.

The two students  – Arun Menon and Kritika Padode  – in their petition had said that the ban violated their fundamental rights under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution.

The ban – sought by Delhi police – was imposed by a trail court on 4 March restraining media outlets from broadcasting or publishing the interview of one of the accused Mukesh Singh.

Another law student had filed a petition last week to remove the ban, saying the documentary filmby filmmaker Leslee Udwinwas "nothing but a honest look at the mind and mindset of one of the convicted rapists of the young woman". 

The interview with Mukesh Singh had sparked massive controversy due to his derogatory remarks about the status of women in India.