In what can provoke a debate, the central government counsel has submitted before the Supreme Court that it is 'against the Indian tradition to permit a lady to smoke'. Government counsel V. Shekhar was referring to the producers of the film Heroine questioning restrictions on smoking scenes in movies.

He submitted before a bench presided over by Justice P. Sathasivam that the government would issue a new notification with regard to regulation of smoking scenes in print/electronic media and films by September 14, even though the proposed move had been challenged before the Delhi High Court. The counsel said UTV Software Communications Private Ltd, the producers of Heroine, had approached the high court to indirectly preempt the notification, but there was no stay.

Though a notification was yet to be issued, UTV had rushed to the high court to challenge an August 2 letter issued by the Information and Broadcasting ministry requesting the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) not to clear smoking scenes until certain conditions were fulfilled. The ministry had proposed a 20-second antismoking message, with a voiceover of one of the actors who is seen smoking in the film, to be displayed at the beginning and in the middle (after the interval) of the film.

This should be apart from a static anti-smoking message to be displayed for the duration of the smoking scene in the film. The government proposed to issue a comprehensive notification on the basis of the letter. But with scenes in Heroine facing the axe, UTV had decided to rush to the high court even before the formal notification. Reference to the matter pending before the high court was made during the hearing of a 2009 appeal by the Centre challenging a Delhi High Court order allowing a petition by filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt challenging a government notification banning smoking in films.

The government had approached the apex court after the high court accepted Bhatt's contention that smoking was a part of life and banning such scenes from films would amount to violation of the fundamental right to speech and expression .In an interim order, the Supreme Court had revived the 2006 notification by staying the operation of the high court order which allowed smoking scenes as long as they did not glamorise smoking.

With an eye on his new film Raaz 3, Bhatt's counsel requested the court on Tuesday to vacate the stay on the high court order as the notification under question has become infructuous with the government coming up with a new notification. Citing urgency, he said Bhatt's new film was releasing in a few days.

The bench presided over by Justice Sathasivam, however, observed that there should be no problem if a film is produced without cigarettes and liquor as one could survive without both. The matter is likely to be listed before the Supreme Court for further hearing on September 20.