Mumbai: After nearly a decade, the Bombay High Court on Thursday said it will hear in December actor Amol Palekar’s petition seeking protection of artistic freedom and challenging the mandatory pre-censorship of plays and dramas.

A bench of Justices Riyaz Chagla and Farhan Dubash scheduled the hearing for December 5 after Palekar’s counsel, Anil Anturkar, requested that the 2016 petition be finally taken up. “The petitioner is 85 years old now and wants an outcome, be it positive or negative,” Anturkar told the court.

Challenge Against Police Act Rules

The counsel said the limited issue before the court is whether, under the provisions of the Bombay Police Act, the police have the authority to impose pre-censorship on plays and performances. “We are now in an era where there is no cens

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