The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday paved the way for the release of a documentary to be streamed on Zee5 by asking the makers to change the title and remove references to “Lawrence” and “Punjab” from the series, trailers and promotional material.The directions by Justice Jagmohan Bansal came on a petition filed by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.Among other things, it had challenged the advisory issued by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting advising OTT platform ZEE5 not to release a documentary or web series based on alleged gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The company had claimed that the advisory was issued without invoking any specific provisions.As the matter came up for resumed hearing, Punjab Advocate-General, Maninderjit Singh Bedi, opposed the release in its existing form before submitting that the series amounted to glorification of the alleged gangster.Bedi also referred to the proceedings pending before a Division Bench headed by the Chief Justice regarding Bishnoi’s alleged jail interview. He added that the Punjab government had facilitated the removal of more than 2,600 social media videos and posts allegedly linked to gangster glorification and the interview controversy pursuant to the high court directions in the matter.Justice Bansal observed that the court had viewed the documentary and was of the prima facie opinion that the series did not appear to glorify any individual. The court was of the opinion that the documentary could be released, subject to modification of its title and promotional content.The Bench made it clear that the title of “Lawrence of Punjab” was required to be changed and further observed that the names “Lawrence Bishnoi” and “Punjab” should not be used while releasing the series, including in trailers and posters.The petitioner was represented by senior advocate Amit Jhanji, with advocates Samir Rathaur, Nitin Sharma and Angad Makkar.On behalf of the Union of India, Additional Solicitor-General Satya Pal Jain and senior panel counsel Dheeraj Jain appeared before the Bench.