Bombay HC asks Dark Chocolate makers not to release film's material

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court today directed the producer and director of film 'Dark Chocolate', based on Sheena Bora murder case, not to release any material apart from its already released trailer on internet, pending hearing on a plea of arrested accused Peter Mukerjea's sister.

Peter Mukerjea's sister Shangom Das Gupta filed a petition in the high court seeking stay on the release of the Bengali movie 'Dark Chocolate', on the ground that it would hamper Peter's opportunity for a fair and impartial trial.

Senior counsel Venkatesh Dhond, appearing for Shangom, told a division bench of Justices S C Dharmadhikari and G S Patel that Peter could not file the petition himself as he is presently in jail, and hence the verification process could not be done.

"We will initiate the process and include Peter as the second petitioner," Dhond said. Meanwhile, the movie's Kolkata-based director Agnidev Chaterjee, who was present in court, informed the bench that the shooting of the movie is over and it is presently in the post-production stage.

"The movie should be ready in roughly about 20 days after which it would be sent to the censor board for certification. The trailer of the movie has been released on YouTube as part of the promotional activity," he said.

The court asked the director and the producer company Macneill Engineering Studios not to release any further material or video of the movie on the internet.

"Other than what has been already released, nothing further should be released. We want to ensure that the accused Peter Mukerjea is not deprived of a fair opportunity to put forth his case before this court," the HC said.

The bench has posted the petition for hearing after two weeks and asked the respondents to file their reply affidavits.

In the film, Mahima Chaudhary plays the role of Indrani Mukerjea and Riya Sen will be seen as the victim and Indrani's daughter Sheena Bora.