The Bombay High Court will pronounce its order on the censorship of ‘Udta Punjab’ today. The Abhishek Chaubey-directed film was not given a certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) till the suggested changes were made.

A Division Bench of Justices S.C. Dharmadhikari and Shalini Phansalkar Joshi had adjourned the matter on Friday after hearing the plea filed by Udta Punjab’s co-producer Phantom Films against the 13 cuts suggested by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in the movie. The Bombay High Court told the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) that the board’s power is to only certify movies for public exhibition and not censor them.

The Bombay High Court has indicated it will allow the release of the film ‘Udta Punjab’, that allegedly portrays the state’s drug problem, with only one cut, out of the 13 the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) suggested, paving the way for its smooth launch on 17 June. The Bombay High Court agreed to the CBFC’s demand that a scene in which Shahid Kapoor is seen urinating into a crowd be removed.

The CBFC had a problem with the content of Udta Punjab. The film tries to bring on screen the menace of drug abuse among youngsters in Punjab. The review committee has said that ‘The theme, presentation, language and visuals of the film are not suitable for non-adults.’

Information and broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley had last week said the film certification norms will have to be liberal and ‘some very radical changes’ will be announced over the next few days.

While the division bench is expected to pass the order today, the censor board is said to have cleared the controversial drug-themed Bollywood film ‘Udta Punjab’ with 13 cuts under the ‘A’ category, said its chairman Pahlaj Nihalani said on Sunday.