09 July,2026 07:14 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Satluj. Pic via Instagram
A public interest litigation (PIL) was reportedly filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging the removal of Diljit Dosanjh's Satluj, a film based on the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra. The petition sought restoration of the film after it was taken down from the OTT platform Zee5 just two days after its release.
According to Bar and Bench, the petition was filed by Sharwan Singh under Article 226 of the Constitution. It names the Union government, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), the Punjab government, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, and Zee5 as respondents. The petition alleged that the film was taken down without any publicly disclosed statutory, judicial or governmental order, thus violating the constitutional guarantee of free speech along with the public's right to access information.
As per the plea, the film, originally titled Punjab '95, was released as Satluj on July 3, 2026, on Zee5, only to be later removed from the platform on July 5. The platform reportedly cited "current circumstances" without referring to any legal or governmental directive.
The petition highlighted that Satluj revolves around the life and work of Jaswant Singh Khalra, the social activist who exposed the alleged illegal cremations and extrajudicial killings carried out during Punjab's militancy era. The petition argues that the events shown in the film are already part of the public record and have also been examined by the Supreme Court, other courts, the CBI, the National Human Rights Commission, as well as other official bodies.
Accordingly, the plea argued that the film does not expose any confidential or prohibited material and that it only presents judicially documented events in a cinematic arrangement.
The PIL also argued that taking down a film without observing due process would be contrary to the rule of law. It also alleged that the removal affects the rights of subscribers who paid to access content, which was to be lawfully available on the platform.
"The abrupt removal of the film, without disclosure of any statutory order, judicial direction or lawful authority, has not only curtailed the fundamental right of the public to receive information and artistic expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India but has also deprived thousands of bona fide subscribers of access to content for which they had already paid consideration," the plea argues.
The petitioner further urged the High Court to direct Zee5 to immediately restore Satluj across India and to also disclose any legal, statutory, or judicial order, if any, that led to the film's removal.
"Such deprivation, in the absence of authority of law, is arbitrary, unreasonable and contrary to the constitutional mandate of fairness, transparency and the rule of law," the plea states.
