The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a writ petition that sought to stop the release of Jolly LLB 3 and remove its promotional song “Bhai Vakeel Hai” for allegedly defaming the legal profession and judiciary.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Sangeeta Chandra and Justice Brij Raj Singh ruled that neither the trailers nor the song lyrics contained objectionable content that could scandalise the legal fraternity.
The petition was filed by advocates Rishab Khare and Anadi Chitranshi. They had requested multiple actions, including staying the film’s release, revoking the CBFC certificate, taking down the song from all platforms, and a public apology from the producers.
Their main argument was that the film franchise disrespects legal professionals, discourages aspiring lawyers, and harms the judiciary’s image. However, the plea faced strong legal objections.
The Union of India questioned the maintainability of the petition. Senior Advocate and Deputy Solicitor General SB Pandey, assisted by Varun Pandey, highlighted that the petitioners had ignored the proper redressal process under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
These rules provide a grievance redressal mechanism that citizens must use before approaching the courts regarding online content.
Agreeing with this view, the court noted that no prior complaint had been made to the relevant authorities. After reviewing all three official trailers and the lyrics of “Bhai Vakeel Hai”, the judges concluded there was nothing derogatory or defamatory.
The court dismissed the petition entirely and reaffirmed that anticipatory censorship cannot be used to curtail creative freedom. The ruling is seen as a strong endorsement of artistic expression within legal boundaries.
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