The Supreme Court on Thursday sought an immediate response from Netflix and filmmaker Neeraj Pandey over the title of the upcoming film Ghooskhor Pandat, directing them to inform the court about the revised name they propose.

During the hearing, the bench made strong oral observations, questioning the choice of the title. “Why should you denigrate a section of society by using such a title. This is against morality and public order. We will not allow you to release the film unless you tell us the changed title,” the bench said, according to PTI.

The top court also directed Pandey to file an affidavit stating that the film does not denigrate any section of society. The matter has been listed for further hearing on February 19.

The observations came while the court was hearing a plea alleging that the film promotes caste and religion-based stereotyping and poses a threat to public order, communal harmony and constitutional values.

The plea sought an immediate stay on the film’s release and streaming.

A bench led by Justice B.V. Nagarathna asked the parties to place the revised title on record within hours, noting that controversial titles are often chosen to generate publicity. The court indicated that the issue would be taken up again once the new name is formally communicated.

The controversy has also been examined by the Delhi High Court, which earlier heard a petition seeking a stay on the release and streaming of the Netflix film. During those proceedings, Netflix informed the court that the makers were willing to change the title and had already removed all promotional material from social media.

Recording Netflix’s submission, the High Court observed that no further orders were required and treated the matter as settled, declining to halt the release at that stage.

The film stars Manoj Bajpayee in the lead role.