The Supreme Court has declined to entertain petitions seeking a ban on the screening of controversial film The Da Vinci Code in India.

A vacation bench comprising Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice Altamas Kabir questioned petitions filed by the All India Christian Welfare Association and a Delhi-based man claiming to be a member of Cathedral church.

The Da Vinci Code Controversy

"When the Censor Board and government has cleared the screening, what is the objection?" the Bench asked. It also wanted to know how many people professing Christianity in India wanted a ban.

The bench didn't get any answer from the counsel appearing for the petitioners. The court asked petitioners why they were against the film, when the book on which it was based was a work of fiction. "You accept it is fiction and not fact, then you should not have any objection," the bench observed. It also didn't take into account the submission that five states had banned the screening.

The court also expressed surprise that the book by Dan Brown was published in 2003, while opposition to it came three years later.