After nearly a decade, the Bombay High Court on Thursday decided to finally take up for hearing actor and filmmaker Amol Palekar’s petition challenging rules that require pre-censorship of play scripts by the Maharashtra State Performance Scrutiny Board.

A bench of Justices Riyaz Chagla and Farhan Dubash scheduled the matter for hearing on December 5 , following a request from Palekar’s counsel, senior advocate Anil Anturkar , who urged the court to take up the case filed back in 2016.

“The petitioner is now 85 years old and wishes for a conclusion to his long-pending plea — positive or negative,” Anturkar told the bench.

The petition questions whether the police, under the Bombay Police Act , has the legal authority to impose pre-censorship on dramas and plays. “We are now in an

See Full Page