Padmavati controversy: How can persons holding public office comment, asks Supreme Court

Without taking names, the bench said, “We are sure the leaders will be guided by the basic premise under the rule of law and not venture outside… If court cannot pre-judge, we are surprised how anybody else can pre-judge the film under the law.”

Several state governments, including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, have said they will not allow the release of the film as of now. On Tuesday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar sought “clarifications” before Padmavati was shown in the state, adding that the character of the queen should not have been shown dancing. While Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje has sought a committee to discuss the film, Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani said it had “hurt Rajput sentiments” and done “foul play with culture”. BJP Madhya Pradesh chief Nandkumar Singh Chauhan called Bhansali a “sinner” for “tampering history”, while CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said Padmavati would not be released in MP even if cleared by the Censors.

Punjab CM Amarinder Singh of the Congress also supported the protests, saying “cinematic licence does not give anyone the right to twist historical facts”.

Appearing for Bhansali, Senior Advocate Harish Salve said the movie would not be released outside India till it was cleared by the Censors, and that doing so there first would only adversely affect its financial interests.

Dismissing the appeal for an international ban, the Supreme Court also slammed the petitioner, advocate M L Sharma, for seeking criminal prosecution of the filmmakers, terming it a frivolous petition. On November 20, the court had dismissed another petition by Sharma seeking deletion of some scenes from the film.