Kabil Sibal welcomes SC's 'Padmaavat' verdict

Congress leader Kabil Sibal on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court's green signal to the controversial film 'Padmaavat' and hoped that the states against its release would honour the apex court's verdict.

"Extremely excited and it is the vindication of the rights of the artists and it is the vindication of the right to freedom of speech and I think Supreme court should be congratulated for upholding not just freedom of speech but the right of artist to present the story in the manner he or she wishes", Sibal told ANI.

"I hope that states concerned will honour the verdict and don't create hurdles for its implementation on the ground", he added.

In its interim order, the apex court had said that all states are constitutionally obliged to maintain law and order and prevent any untoward incident during the screening of the film after permission has been granted by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

Producers of 'Padmaavat' on Wednesday moved the top court to convince the aforementioned states to withdraw their ban on the release of the film.

In their plea, the producers questioned the right of these four state governments to ban the film when the apex court has already clarified that the film's screening can only be suspended in a particular area if there is a law and order situation developing.

The flick has run into trouble time and again, as members of several Rajput factions have accused the director of the film, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, of distorting history.

Starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor in lead roles, the film is based on the 16th century Sufi poet Mohammad Jayasi's poem 'Padmavat'.

The film is all set for January 25 worldwide release in Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil. It will be the first Indian film to get a global IMAX 3D release.

--ANI