The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Centre to produce the original record and orders issued by the government to block the screening of the BBC documentary, India: The Modi Question.

The top court refrained from passing any interim order or fixing an early date, orally observing that people continued to have access to the film.

The court said no interim order to permit the screening of the documentary could be passed without hearing the views of the government, and posted the matter for further hearing in the first week of April.

Senior advocate Chandra Uday Singh, appearing for some of the petitioners, had sought an early hearing before April.

“We direct the Union of India to produce the original record in the next date of hearing,” the bench said.

The bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and M.M. Sundresh issued formal notices to the Centre on two petitions challenging the Union government’s decision to exercise emergency powers to block screenings. The petitions said the order violated citizens’ fundamental right to free speech and expression, and information technology rules.

One petition was filed jointly by veteran journalist N. Ram, Trinamul Congress MP Mahua Moitra and advocate Prashant Bhushan. The other was filed by an advocate.

Justice Khanna, who headed the bench, initially asked senior advocate Singh, appearing for Ram and the others, why they had not approached Delhi High Court.

Singh said the apex court had while transferring a batch of petitions pending in various high courts in another matter, relating to a challenge to the Information Technology rules, restrained the high courts from hearing those petitions. Singh added that Bombay and Madras High Courts had earlier stayed the impugned IT rules and, therefore, the petitioners had approached the apex court.