No stay on screening of The Kerala Story: Kerala High Court

The court also observed that in view of the the submission of the producer-company of the film that it did not intend to retain the offending teaser on its social media handles, no further orders were required at this stage.

People pass by a poster of The Kerala Story at a cinema hall in Thiruvananthapuram on May 5, 2023. | Photo Credit: ANI

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Friday declined to restrain the producer and director of The Kerala Story from releasing or screening the film.

The Bench comprising Justice N. Nagaresh and Justice Sophy Thomas passed the order when a few writ petitions seeking to suspend the screening of the film or its teaser and trailer came up for hearing.

The court also observed that in view of the the submission of the producer-company of the film that it did not intend to retain the offending teaser on its social media handles, no further orders were required at this stage.

The court noted that in a statement filed by Deputy Solicitor General S.Manu on behalf of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), it had been pointed out that the producer had published a disclaimer that the film was a fictionalised one and contained a dramatised version of the events.

The Kerala Story is screened at a cinema hall in Kottayam on May 5, 2023 with police protection. | Photo Credit: Vishnu Prathap

The court also observed that a competent statutory authority such as the CBFC had examined the movie and found it suitable for screening. The court, which viewed the trailer of the movie, added that it did not contain anything offensive to any particular community as a whole. However, it was a fact that none of petitioners had watched the movie as a whole.

The petitioners alleged that the film was based on incorrect and unverified facts and contained derogatory remarks about one particular community. The release and screening of the film would destroy the secular fabric of society. It had the potential to disrupt public order and public morality, especially women of the Muslim community. They added that the teaser released on social media platforms contained erroneous statements, tarnishing the image of one community.

During the hearing, the Bench orally observed that there was something called freedom of speech and expression. “The makers of the film had artistic freedom and we have to balance that also.”

The court said after all this was a fictional story. Merely because some religious heads were shown in bad light, it could not be the basis to ban the movie. ”There are many movies in which Hindu sanyasis are shown as smugglers and rapists. No one says anything. In Kerala we are so secular,” the court said at one point of time. In fact, there was no allegation against a particular religion but only against the outlawed ISIS, the court pointed out.

Senior Supreme Court lawyer Dushyant Dave, appearing for one of the petitioners, submitted that the impact of film today was much greater on minds of people than books. The screening of the film might create serious law and order problem.

He submitted that if the freedom was likely to poison minds of innocent people and threaten public order, such freedom must be curtailed. The constitutional ideal of fraternity was important as it was part of the basic structure of the Constitution. The film would destroy the fraternity. The country was founded on the principle of secularism. Dr. Ambedkar had said that liberty and equality were nothing without fraternity. The film was portraying Muslim community as villains. Isolated incidents cannot be made to seem like the truth and made into a film.