DMK govt bans The Da Vinci Code

Keeping this in view, the Tamil Nadu government has directed the district collectors and the Greater Chennai Commissioner of Police ‘‘to study the situation closely and to take action under Section 13 of the Cinematograph Act 1952 (Central Act 37 of 1952) for suspending screening of the movie,’’ the statement said.

SC to hear plea on June 12: The Supreme Court will on June 12 hear a petition seeking withdrawal of Dan Brown’s bestseller Da Vinci Code and the movie based on it from India.

A Bench consisting Justices Arijit Pasayat and L S Panta fixed the date after the petitioner contended that ‘‘the book contains malicious blasphemous description regarding the very religion of Christianity’’. Initially, the court declined to hear the matter saying the Censor Board had already cleared it.