In a stern rebuke to the makers of the upcoming Netflix film Ghooskhor Pandat, the Supreme Court of India on Thursday directed producer Neeraj Pandey to alter the movie’s title, deeming it offensive and denigrating a section of society. After being informed that the name has already been dropped, the court directed the makers to file an affidavit confirming the same and informing the new name.
The directive came during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed against the film, which stars Manoj Bajpayee and is described as a fictional police drama with reformative elements.
The bench, comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, said that freedom of expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution comes with reasonable restrictions, particularly to preserve fraternity and prevent societal divisions.
Petitioners argued that the title Ghooskhor Pandat, which translates to “bribe-taking priest”, promotes caste and religion-based stereotyping, equating religious offerings like “dakshina” to corruption, thereby hurting the dignity and sentiments of the Brahmin community. The court agreed with the petitioners and came down heavily on the producers, accusing them of denigrating a community.
“Why should you denigrate anybody? Why should you denigrate a section of the society by this kind of title?” observed Justice Nagarathna, questioning why filmmakers would target communities.
The bench further remarked, “Being woke is one thing. But denigrating the public and creating this kind of unrest. You are adding to the unrest.”
Highlighting the constitutional value of fraternity, the court noted that the framers introduced it to address India’s diverse castes and races, and such content could exacerbate societal fissures.
The
counsel for the producer informed the court that the title had been withdrawn and the trailer removed from social media platforms, assuring a new, non-conflicting name would be chosen.
However, the bench insisted on an affidavit assuring that the title has been changed and detailing any other changes to ensure compliance, warning that the film would not be permitted for release otherwise.
The court stated, “we thought filmmaker’s, journalists, etc are responsible people. You tell us the new name otherwise we will not permit release of this film.” However, the producer’s counsel responded that they have not decided on a new title yet. When the counsel said that it is a fictional police drama, the court stated, “in fictional police drama why do you bring all this? Look at the unrest.”
The petitioner added that changing only the title will not be enough, content in the movie, like referring to Dakshina as Ghoos (bribe) also need to be changed. “When we go to temple and offer money to pujari, they are saying it is ghoos. The narrative may be changed,” the portioner’s advocate said.
The Supreme Court issued notices to the respondents, including the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), the Union government, and Netflix, and restrained any publicity or hype around the film until the next hearing.
The matter has been scheduled for further consideration on February 19, 2026.
