The Calcutta high court Monday dismissed a petition filed by Shantanu Mukherjee, grandson of the late freedom fighter Gopal Chandra Mukherjee — also known as ‘Gopal Patha’ — challenging his grandfather’s depiction in the film The Bengal Files, directed by Vivek Agnihotri.

The petitioner accused the film of “outright despicable depiction” of his grandfather and alleged “gross victimisation” by state authorities for failing to act on his complaints.

During the hearing, Justice Amrita Sinha of the Calcutta High Court observed that the petitioner had not pursued statutory remedies available under the RTI Act, such as filing an appeal or second appeal.

“If you are aggrieved by inaction, you must avail yourself of the remedy prescribed,” Justice Sinha remarked. The court also observed that reminders sent via email could not substitute for proper appeals.

“The petitioner intended to obtain certain information under the RTI Act. The time period within which the information ought to have been provided has expired. If the petitioner is aggrieved by inaction, remedies under the RTI Act must be availed of. The writ petition on this cause of action will not be maintainable. In view of the above, the writ petition fails and is hereby dismissed,” Justice Sinha said in her order.

The petitioner had claimed that despite sending representations to the police, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), and Vivek Agnihotri, no relief had been provided, and misinformation about his grandfather continued to be circulated on platforms like YouTube.

The petitioner had also sent an RTI request to the CBFC seeking details about the certification process and the board members involved, but received no response.

He sought directions for a probe into the role of the CBFC and the filmmaker, including a demand that Agnihotri step down as a CBFC member to ensure impartiality. He further asked for the removal or editing of content portraying his grandfather in an allegedly dishonourable manner.

The petitioner’s counsel argued that the questions were substantive and intentionally left unanswered, but the court did not accept this explanation.

Released on September 5, The Bengal Files features Bengali actor Saurav Das as Gopal Patha. The film has bombed at the box office, having minted only Rs 6.65 crore nett in India in three days.