Jha moves SC, seeks damage for banning of 'Aarakshan'

Jha, however, did not quantify the damages and told a bench of justices R M Lodha and A K Dave that even Re 1 damage would be sufficient as he filed the petition as a protest to government decision to ban the film.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for him, submitted that the damages should not be paid out of tax payers money and it should be given by the officers responsible for banning the film.

"Aarakshan" was banned by various states including Punjab after which Jha approached the Supreme Court which had on August 19 quashed the ban saying that the restriction on release of film would go against the democratic value of free speech and expression.

The political thriller starring Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Manoj Vajpai, Prateek Babbar and Deepika Padukone was released on August 12 in other parts of the country.