The Delhi High Court on 10 July issued an interim stay on the nationwide release of “Udaipur Files: Kanhaiya Lal Tailor Murder”, a film scheduled to open on 11 July. A division bench headed by Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya ordered that the suspension will remain until the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting decides a revision plea filed by Islamic clerics’ body Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind under Section 6 of the Cinematograph Act. The court gave the petitioners two days to move the Centre and asked the government to rule within a week. The bench said statutory remedies must be exhausted before judicial intervention, but noted allegations that the film vilifies Muslims and could disturb communal harmony. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the movie would jeopardise the accused’s right to a fair trial. Counsel for the Central Board of Film Certification told the court it had already ordered the removal or modification of 55 segments and maintained the work is “crime specific, not community specific”. A day earlier, on 9 July, the Supreme Court had declined to urgently list a separate plea from murder-case accused Mohammed Javed that sought to halt the film, remarking, “Let the film be released.” The High Court’s order now supersedes that position. Producer Amit Jani said he is considering approaching the apex court or making representations to the Centre. The film dramatises the June 2022 beheading of Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal, a killing that sparked nationwide outrage and is being tried before a special National Investigation Agency court in Jaipur. With the stay in place, the movie cannot be exhibited in theatres until the federal government completes its review.