Bombay High Court rejects plea seeking stay on release of film ‘Match Fixing’

The Bombay High Court on Thursday refused to halt the release of Match Fixing – The Nation at Stake, a film inspired by the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case. The court noted that the movie is fictional, and the producers agreed to display a clear disclaimer stating that the film does not depict real events or people.
Lt Colonel Prasad Purohit, an accused in the Malegaon case, had filed a petition seeking to delay the release, arguing that the film could damage his reputation and influence the ongoing trial. His lawyers, Harish Pandya and Dhrutiman Joshi, said the film’s trailers appear to portray the “truth” and unfairly tarnish Purohit’s image as an army officer.
However, the film’s producers countered that the movie is fictional and based on an already available book. They agreed to add an audio disclaimer at the start, clarifying that the film bears no resemblance to any real person, living or dead.
The court questioned Purohit’s concern that judges could be swayed by a fictional movie. “Are you saying that a judge will forget evidence and be influenced by a movie?” the bench remarked, noting that the book on which the film is based has been publicly available for years without issue.
Pandya also requested that the film’s release be postponed until after the Maharashtra Assembly elections, citing concerns over the movie’s portrayal of “saffron terror.” The court dismissed this request, stating that elections were irrelevant to the case.
The bench concluded that Purohit’s concerns were “misconceived,” and dismissed his petition.
After hearing the arguments, the bench said, “We do not think that the apprehension of the petitioner is well-founded. The movie is based on fiction and hence there can be no apprehension that the trial, which is at the stage of final arguments, would be affected. Entire apprehension of petitioner is wholly misconceived. Petition is dismissed.”
A separate petition by Nadim Khan, which alleged that the movie tarnished a specific community, was withdrawn.
The Malegaon blast, which occurred on September 29, 2008, killed six people and injured over 100 when a bomb attached to a motorcycle exploded near a mosque in the town in Maharashtra.