Moulvi IQBAL HAIDER vs FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN through Secretary Ss — 2023 PLD 182 KARACHI-HIGH-COURT-SINDH

Case information

Citation: 2023 PLD 182 KARACHI-HIGH-COURT-SINDH
Court: Sindh High Court
Year: 2023
Reporter: PLD
Parties: Moulvi IQBAL HAIDER vs FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN through Secretary Ss
Subject matter: Constitutional

Fields are extracted from the reported citation and judgment text. Where a detail is not stated in the record, it is not shown.

Judgment text as reported

Moulvi IQBAL HAIDER VS FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN through Secretary Ss. 6 & 8---Constitution of Pakistan, Arts. 199 & 19---Constitutional petition---Freedom of speech---Principles of guidance in certifying films---Powers to suspend exhibition of films in certain cases---Scope---Where a cinematic work has passed through the censors, who have examined its content and cleared it for release with an appropriate certification, an individual cannot be allowed to trump that decision through a Court proceeding based on his conception of morality---Indeed, it is not the function of the Court under Art. 199 of the Constitution to make a moral judgment so as to curtail the freedom of speech and expression of a filmmaker, as safeguarded under Art. 19 of the Constitution---Default position of the Court under Art. 199 ought to be that of fully safeguarding the fundamental right by giving as expansive an interpretation to Art. 19 as possible, and in the event of a restriction being imposed by the Board or any other authority that may be competent in that regard, testing the reasonableness of that restriction stringently, so as to ensure that the same is "reasonable" in the strictest conceivable sense--- As such, in the absence of any restriction imposed by the concerned quarter, whether that be the Board or Provincial Government, it does not fall to the Court to morally police the public by making a determination of what should or should not be viewed and to take on the function of itself devising and imposing a restriction---Suffice it to say that unnecessary censorship suffocates a society and stifles its creativity and growth.

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