Supreme Court dismisses plea to ban Pak artists in India

The Supreme Court asked the petitioner to stop being “so narrow-minded” after dismissing a plea on Tuesday that sought to outright forbid Pakistani artists from appearing or working in India.

A bench of judges Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti declared that they had no intention of overturning the Bombay High Court’s ruling that dismissed the appeal submitted by self-described actor and filmmaker Faaiz Anwar Qureshi.

“You should not press this appeal. Do not be so narrow-minded,” the bench said.

In the petition, the central government was ordered by the court to completely forbid Indian citizens, businesses, and associations from hiring or soliciting any kind of work or performance, accepting any services, forming any kind of association, or doing anything else with any Pakistani artist, including its technicians, singers, musicians, lyricists, and film crew.

The petition was rejected by the Bombay High Court, which stated that the reliefs it requested would be counterproductive to the advancement of cultural harmony, unity, and peace.

“One must understand that in order to be a patriot, one need not be inimical to those from abroad especially, from the neighbouring country,” the court had said.

“A true patriot is a person who is selfless, who is devoted to the cause of his country, which he cannot be unless he is a person who is good at heart. A person who is good at heart would welcome in his country any activity which promotes peace, harmony, and tranquillity within the country and across the border,” it had said.

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