Vishwaroopam ban: HC tells Kamal Hasaan to settle it amicably

The suggestion was made by the court even as it deferred till Tuesday its order on Haasan's plea challenging the Tamil Nadu government's ban on release of the mega-budget spy thriller, which has been objected to by Muslim groups.

As the court met to decide on the plea, Haasan's counsel filed petitions challenging prohibitory orders imposed by District Collectors' under Section 144 of CrPC across the state and sought hearing on it along with the main case. Deferring the matter till Tuesday, Justice K Venkataraman, who had watched the movie on Saturday, suggested that the petitioner "explore all possibilities" to find an "amicable" solution to the issue with the government.

The judge suggested to the petitioner to "keep in mind, the law and order situation in the country... unity of the nation... because of this there should not be any disharmony among the communities... That is the primary consideration.."

Talking to reporters outside the court, petitioner's counsel P S Raman said, "We challenged the District Collectors' orders and sought to be heard along with the main petition."

On the court's advice for an amicable situation, Raman said, "The court only made an observation that since Kamal Haasan has returned to town, he can try to find a compromise. That is not a court order. You shall not consider it

... contd.