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Updated: Dec 17, 2018 21:19 IST

The Gujarat High Court has dismissed a petition seeking a ban on the showing of Bollywood film Kedarnarth in the state, terming it was based on “wrong notions about Hinduism”.

The petition by Prakash Sundersinh Rajput, the state chief of the International Hindu Sena, had contended that the exhibition of the film, which features Sushant Singh Rajput opposite debutant Sara Ali Khan and is set against the backdrop of the disastrous 2013 Uttarakhand floods, would hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindus.

It also alleged that the show of intimacy between a Muslim boy and a Hindu girl “is not only rude and offensive but also unfair for public exhibition” and that certain scenes in the film had disrespected the culture and tradition of Hindu religion.

Rejecting the plea, a bench comprising Acting Chief Justice AS Dave and Justice Biren Vaishnav said that “just because a Muslim boy is shown to be in love with a Hindu girl at a holy place, we fail to understand how religious sentiments of Hindu community will be affected”.

The bench, in their verdict delivered on December 5 ahead of the film’s release on December 7, said the petition was not only “misconceived” but also “based on a wrong notion about Hinduism as understood by the petitioner”.

“Hinduism as a concept, religion and faith, tolerance for all religions, patience, harmony and welfare of mankind as a whole are the basic tenets of Hinduism,” it said.

Maintaining that any prohibitory steps from its side would result in a breach of fundamental rights of all those involved in the making of the film, the court slapped a fine of Rs 5000 on the petitioner, to be paid within a week to the Gujarat High Court Legal Services Committee.