Supreme Court notice to 'Kaal' producer
- IndiaGlitz, [Saturday,April 30 2005]
The Supreme Court Friday issued notice to the producer of the Hindi film "Kaal" on allegation it was shot at locations deep within the Jim Corbett National Park in violation of the Wildlife Act.
Notice was also issued to the centre, the Uttaranchal government and the Uttaranchal Chief Wildlife Warden on the film, which was released countrywide Friday.
A bench comprising judges Y.K. Sabharwal, Arijit Pasayat and S.H. Kapadia issued the notice on an application from amicus curiae Harish Salve alleging that the film was shot in the national park in violation of the court's earlier orders not to use wild animals for commercial purposes.
Salve told the court that he had received a letter from former minister Maneka Gandhi pointing out that the film was shot at the park without proper permission from the Chief Wildlife Warden as required under the Wildlife Act. Besides, wild animals were allegedly used in the film.
The application wanted the court to impose exemplary damages on the film as it was shot without necessary permissions either from the central government or the authorities concerned. It said that permitting shooting of a film inside the forest amounted to permitting a non-forest activity.