Stills from Black (above) and Parineeta

New Delhi, May 9: The National Film Awards for 2005 — already delayed by a year — are in fresh trouble with Delhi High Court asking the ministry of information and broadcasting to investigate allegations of rigging.

The declaration of five categories of the awards — scheduled for May 12 — has been stayed after a Calcutta-based film critic, one of the jury members, filed a petition saying they were being pressured to select certain films.

The next hearing in the case is on July 26.

Shyamali Deb Banerjee has also accused I&B ministry officials of high-handedness in dealing with jury members. The ministry, she said in her petition, was influencing their decisions “at every stage”.

“I have filed this petition because I feel the declaration of the awards right now would undermine the credibility of the awards.”

She had earlier written to I&B minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi, but he has not responded, Shyamali said.

One of the films she is targeting is Black, which stars Amitabh Bachchan. It is an adaptation of the 1950s film on Helen Keller, The Miracle Worker, she pointed out in her petition. Adaptations, she said, are not eligible to even be nominated for the national awards. Black has been nominated for both best film and best director.

Parzania and Parineeta, she alleged, were “forced down the jury’s throat” as nominations without a proper discussion.