No need to stay CBFC-cleared film: Kerala HC allows release of 'Kerala Story 2'
The film is a sequel to 'The Kerala Story', which also focused on alleged ISIS recruitment in Kerala and had faced significant criticism.
The film is a sequel to 'The Kerala Story', which also focused on alleged ISIS recruitment in Kerala and had faced significant criticism.
The film is a sequel to 'The Kerala Story', which also focused on alleged ISIS recruitment in Kerala and had faced significant criticism.
A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Friday permitted the release of the film 'Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond', staying a single-judge order that had halted its release, saying there is no need to withhold the release of a film that has already been certified by the Censor Board. The film was slated to hit theatres today.
Lifting the single bench's stay order, a Division Bench comprising Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice PV Balakrishnan posted the case for further hearing after two weeks. The court passed the order on writ appeals filed by producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah against the common order of the single judge, which had stayed the release of the film for 15 days.
Earlier on Thursday, the division bench concluded the hearing of the stay order and reserved judgment for Friday. Advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, appearing for the makers of 'Kerala Story 2', said that the single bench order will lead to commercial disruption and is destructive of free speech. "Crores have been invested. The movie was set to be released in 1,500 theatres in India and 335 theatres across the world. If the movie is not released tomorrow (Friday), the producer will be finished financially," the counsel said.
He said that a social evil of radicalisation is being portrayed, and it doesn't denigrate the state of Kerala, but only shows the protagonist is from Kerala, and in this film, the protagonist is also from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Earlier on Thursday, while granting the interim stay on the film's release, Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas had directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to re-examine the certification granted to the film. The order was issued on interim applications filed by petitioners who questioned the clearance.
The court also said that the CBFC showed a prima facie "manifest absence of application of mind" while granting certification to the film. Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas noted that dissemination of content with a tendency to create discord, disturb law and order, or undermine social harmony cannot fall within the ambit of freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.
The court had earlier indicated its willingness to watch the film before taking a final decision. However, the producer declined the offer, with counsel submitting that the matter could instead be argued on legal grounds.
The film is a sequel to 'The Kerala Story', which centred on the alleged recruitment of women from Kerala by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The earlier film had drawn widespread criticism over its portrayal of religious radicalisation and concerns about its potential impact on the state's image.