J&K High Court allows release of 'Shikara'

Srinagar, Feb 7 (IANS) The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Friday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to withhold the release of "Shikara" -- a film on migration of Kashmiri Pandits directed by filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra.A division bench of the High Court dismissed the PIL after the state government assured that the release of "Shikara" would not disturb public order."The petition was dismissed after assurances that there will be no law and order problems," a litigant said.The petitioners had submitted that "Shikara" has wrongly depicted the facts related to migration of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley in the early 1990s.They alleged that Chopra has blamed the majority population of the erstwhile state for the migration of Pandits without making any distinction between civilians and the militants, and sought to withhold the release of the movie till it was scrutinised and the objectionable scenes and dialogues removed.
--IANS zi/pgh/bc