A few days before the theater debut, Raja Shivaji has cleared a legal hurdle. The Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to stop the film for omitting the honorific “Chhatrapati” from its title.A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Gautam Ankhad held that the petition did not raise any genuine public interest, according to the Bar and Bench. Dismissing the plea, the court said, “This PIL is motivated, and it is quite evident from the record that this PIL was filed two days before the release of the film. In our opinion, the title of the film does not in any way disparage the situation. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj“.The PIL was filed by the Sree Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Foundation, which argued that the title “Chhatrapati” should be removed from the 17th century. The 19th century Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji was said to be disrespectful to Maharaja and hurt public sentiment.
“Search for residence, change of title”
Appearing for the petitioner, advocate Manoj Kumar Mishra requested the court to restrain the release, screening and public exhibition of the film. The plea also sought a direction to rename the film as ‘Chhatrapati Raja Shivaji’ and asked the Central Board of Film Certification to re-examine the title.However, the judge was not convinced, stating that the petitioner relied largely on publicly available information and failed to establish a larger public cause.“A PIL that was created with a guiding philosophy of ensuring that the voice of the voiceless is heard… seems to have been curtailed by a petition like the present one,” the Bench said while rejecting the plea.
“The film shows the pre-coronation phase”
In the film’s defense, advocate Shardul Singh, appearing inside the actor-director Riteish DeshmukhHe told the court the story about the life of Shivaji Maharaj before his coronation as ‘Chhatrapati’ in 1674.He stated, “The film depicts life before the coronation, for which a disclaimer has been added, which has been approved by the CBFC.”Singh also pointed out that the project was announced in February 2024 and the release date of May 1, 2026 was in the public domain since 2025, questioning the timing of the request.
Ease for authors before release
As the judge refuses to stop the film, Raja Shivaji will release as scheduled. The film, co-written, directed and starring Riteish Deshmukhincludes an ensemble cast Sanjay DuttAbhishek Bachchan, Mahesh Manjrekar, Sachin Khedekar, Bhagyashree, Fardeen Khan, Jitendra Joshi and Amole Gupte with a cameo Salman Khan.
