The Bombay High Court today threw out a petition filed by a woman named Priya Singh Paul who claims to be the daughter of late Congress leader Sanjay Gandhi. Through her lawyer, Tanveer Nizam, she told the court that Madhur Bhandarkar's film Indu Sarkar should not be allowed to release, as it portrayed Sanjay Gandhi, her alleged father, in a bad light.

Advocate Birendra Saraf, appearing for Madhur Bhandarkar, told the court that last-minute petitions like these should just be thrown out. "We have a disclaimer saying that the film is based on fiction, and that all characters and incidents portrayed in the film are fictitious, and any resemblance is purely coincidental. Moreover, the censor certificate is issued after various cuts that the filmmakers were asked to do. 20 crores have been spent in the making of the film and 800 theaters have been booked, along with various rights which have been given to channels," he said.

Saraf also cited the court order on the film Dirty Picture, which was made on the life of South actor Silk Smitha. He added that the petitioner approaching the court "is just a way of getting acknowledgement from court on the issue of lineage."

The division bench of Justice Anoop Mohta and Justice Anuja Prabhudesai kept asking the petitioner that when the actual descendents of the Gandhi family are not approaching the court, then what was the locus standi of Paul in the case. Nizam told the court that if others have not chosen to come before the court, that does not mean that Paul should also not come to court.

He added that Paul found out that she had been adopted by a family from a Delhi orphanage and has not been able to find any information about her biological parents. "She is still in the process to get details and has also written to the members of the Gandhi family to give samples for checking the genetic lineage. If at that point it is proved that she is the daughter of the family, she will have no remedy if the film is released which shows her father, Sanjay Gandhi in a bad light as a rapist."

However, the division bench was of the view that "unless the claim of lineage is finalised," the petitioner had no ground to stop the release of film. Indu Sarkar is set for release on July 28.

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