Overview

• Justice Amrita Sinha on September 8 dismissed a petition filed by Santanu Mukherjee seeking to halt the film’s release over its portrayal of his grandfather, freedom fighter Gopal Chandra Mukherjee.
• The court found the writ not maintainable because the grievance stemmed from unanswered RTI queries and the proper remedy lay in the RTI Act’s appeal mechanism.
• Counsel for the respondents noted the film is already screening across India, and the court recorded that the plea had effectively become infructuous after release.
• The order left open the option to approach appropriate forums, with parties indicating that any challenge could lie in defamation or criminal proceedings.
• The Bengal Files, directed by Vivek Agnihotri and released on September 5, focuses on the 1946 Calcutta unrest and includes a character based on Gopal Chandra Mukherjee.