New Delhi, July 29 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to stay the release of the animated film 'Mahaprabhu Jagannath', and expressed concern over increasing petitions to ban art on the grounds of sensitivity.

A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan Supreme also remarked that the film does not, in any manner, undermine the devotion or reverence associated with Lord Jagannath.

It dismissed the applications seeking to stop the release of the animated film while refusing to alter its July 17 order that allowed the producer to release the movie after the conclusion of the Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri on July 28.

The top court also rejected the contention that portraying Lord Jagannath in animated form was offensive, or...