The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the West Bengal government’s May 8 order banning screening of film ‘The Kerala Story’. This means theatres in West Bengal can now screen the film.
The apex court also asked the Tamil Nadu government to ensure the safety of moviegoers after theatre owners decided to stop screening the film due to security concerns.
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said, “We intend to stay the order of the state of West Bengal. With respect to Tamil Nadu, we will direct them to not directly or indirectly ban it’.
The bench, headed by the CJI and also comprising Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala, also directed the producer to put a disclaimer in the movie by 5 pm on May 20 on the claim that 32,000 Hindu and Christian women were converted to Islam.
According to the apex court, the disclaimer should say that “there is no authenticated data to back up the suggestion on figure of conversion and the film represents the fictionalised version”.
The bench said it would like to watch the movie before proceeding to decide the pleas challenging the grant of CBFC certification. It said the petitions will be heard in the second week of July.
SC Asks Tamil Nadu to Provide Security to Moviegoers
The top court also took note of submissions that there was no ban on the film in Tamil Nadu and asked the state government to ensure the safety and security of moviegoers.
During the hearing, it said that statutory provisions cannot be used to “put a premium on public intolerance”.
The bench said it is the duty of the state government to maintain law and order as the film has been granted certification by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
“Bad films bomb at the box office,” the bench said.
“The legal provision cannot be used to put a premium on public intolerance. Otherwise, all films will find themselves in this spot,” the bench, also comprising justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala, said during the hearing.
Directed by Sudipto Sen, ‘The Kerala Story’, a movie about Hindu women from Kerala who were converted to Islam and trafficked to ISIS and other Islamic war zones in 2018-2019, stirred a political storm. The opposition accused the filmmakers of promoting BJP propaganda in the film.
On May 8, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ordered an immediate ban on the screening of ‘The Kerala Story’ in the state to avoid “any incident of hatred and violence”.
The movie, on the other hand, was declared tax-free in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh last week. UP CM Yogi Adityanath announced on Twitter last Tuesday that ‘The Kerala Story’ was given tax-free status in the state.
Adityanath’s Uttarakhand counterpart, Pushkar Singh Dhami followed suit shortly after, while Madhya Pradesh was the first state to declare ‘The Kerala Story’ tax-free.
The move came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned the controversial movie in his speech during a rally in Karnataka and said the film has exposed how terrorism is corroding Kerala.
(with PTI inputs)
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