SHC turns down plea seeking ban on Joyland

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday rejected a plea seeking ban on Saim Sadiq’s Joyland movie, ARY News reported.

The petitioner in his plea maintained that the “film contains highly objectionable material” and its release is against the violation of Article 227 of the Constitution.

The applicant pleaded with the court to cancel the license and censorship certificate of the movie.

“Did you have seen the movie,” the SHC Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh inquired the plea.

“You have not seen the movie and had approached court for a ban,” SHC Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh said and rejected the plea seeking a ban on the movie.

A similar petition was filed in Lahore High Court (LHC) on Nov 29 against the screening of Saim Sadiq’s Joyland movie.

The petitioner maintained that the “film contains highly objectionable material which do not conform with the social values and moral standards of our society and is clearly repugnant to the norms of decency and morality”.

Last week, Central Board of Film Censors allowed the screening of Pakistani film ‘Joyland’, which was banned almost a week before its release.

The Central Board of Film Censors had reviewed the Pakistani film on directives from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif – who had formed an eight-member committee to assess the complaints as well as merits to decide on film’s release.

Also Read: ‘Joyland’ gets Censor nod for screening in Pakistan

In a statement, Censor Board Chairman Muhammad Tahir Hassan said that the full board had allowed the local screening of Joyland after deleting some parts. “A certificate for the screening of the film is being issued,” he added.

However, the government of Punjab has banned the screening of Saim Siddiq’s Joyland movie.