Jolly LLB a laugh riot? Meerut lawyers don't think so, move HC

From its trailer, Jolly LLB sounds like a laugh riot — the judge (Saurabh Shukla) pulls up a struggling lawyer from Meerut (Arshad Warsi) for spelling prosecution as prostitution and appeal as apple in a PIL. But not everyone's amused.
A group of lawyers from Meerut Wednesday moved the Delhi High Court against the release of Jolly LLB which is due to hit the screens next week. Claiming that the movie trailer, currently on air, is "defamatory to lawyers" and amounts to "contempt of court", the lawyers asked the court to order a stay on the release of the film.
But the bench of Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice V K Jain declined to stay the release of the film simply on the basis of the trailer.
"It is only a trailer and at this stage it is difficult for us to find out in what context it was said," the bench said. The court, however, reserved its final order on the plea.
The petition, filed by lawyers claiming to be graduates of Meerut law college, Chaudhary Charan Singh University, states "it has been shown in the film that lawyers use abusive language in court proceedings, thereby putting the dignity of the court in low esteem of society".
According to the petitioners, the movie defames all lawyers who are graduates of the university.
The comedy, which also has Boman Irani playing the role of a highly successful lawyer, is scheduled for release on March 15.
The petitioners have sought cancellation of the certification granted for the release of the film, alleging that it violates "guidelines issued by Information and Broadcasting Ministry under Section 5B of the Cinematograph Act."
"The guidelines bar visuals or words involving defamation of an individual or a body of individuals or contempt of court," states the petition.
Appearing for production house Fox Star Studio India Pvt Ltd, which has produced the film, senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul argued that the scenes in the movie are the creative expression of the filmmaker.
Kaul said the trailer of the movie has been on air since January but the petitioners have approached the court just a few days before the release of the film "which is a blackmailing tactic". Arguing that "this practice has to be stopped", he asked the court to reject the plea.