Madhya Pradesh HC junks plea by Shah Bano Begum’s daughter against Emraan Hashmi-starrer

INDORE: The Madhya Pradesh high court on Thursday dismissed a petition filed by Shah Bano Begum’s daughter seeking a stay on the release of the Bollywood film Haq, starring Emraan Hashmi and Yami Gautam Dhar. As per media reports, the court said the plea lacked merit and found no evidence of defamation, violation of rights, or any legal ground to block the movie’s release.The petition was filed by Siddiqua Begum Khan, daughter of Shah Bano Begum — the Indore woman whose landmark legal battle for alimony led to a historic Supreme Court ruling in 1985, affirming the right of Muslim women to maintenance after divorce. Khan alleged that Haq, directed by Suparn S Varma and slated for theatrical release on Friday (November 7), misrepresents events from her mother’s life and was made without the family’s consent. She claimed the film drew from personal and sensitive details surrounding Shah Bano’s case.However, after hearing both sides, the court concluded that the film did not defame the family or distort the facts in a manner warranting judicial intervention. Shah Bano, a resident of Indore, had taken her husband, lawyer Mohammad Ahmed Khan, to court in 1978 seeking maintenance after he divorced her. The Supreme Court’s 1985 verdict in her favour triggered widespread debate and ultimately led the Rajiv Gandhi government to enact the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, effectively nullifying the ruling.Shah Bano passed away in 1992, but her case remains one of India’s most significant milestones in the discourse on gender justice and personal law.(With agency inputs)