Maharashtra government today tried to justify before the Mumbai high courtits ban on controversial Marathi play "Mi Nathuram Godse Boltoy" (I, NathuramGodse Speaking) and opposed a petition that prayed for permanent leave to stage"emotional reading" of the drama on the ground that it would pose lawand order problems.
The petition, filed by its writer-producer Pradip Dalvi, was adjourned fortwo weeks by a full bench to enable him file reply to affidavits filed bygovernment and police.
The petition, seeking recital of the play by expressing emotions, wasreferred to full bench as it involved constitutional law points and relatedimportant issues.
In a related development, chief justice B.P.Singh, justices S. Radhakrishnanand D.Y.Chandrachud refused to entertain an application made by Dalvi and Shiv Senaleader Anand Dighe urging for permission to stage the play between June 25 to July10 to commemorate national integration in the new millennium by Akhil Bhartiya HinduMahasabha.
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The application had urged for staying the government notification banning theplay. The petitioners asked for an early date of hearing but the court rejectedtheir plea.
The government had banned the play in 1998 by issuing a notification whichrestrained public performance of the play in any form. The ban covered scriptwriting, stage shows, sale or distribution of audio-video cassettes of the playand seminars on the same theme.
The reasons for the ban were stated to be the government's apprehension thatit amounted to glorifying the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi. The Shiv Sena had beenin power then, but the ban had been put into place after persistent demands andagitation by the Congress.
