The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the West Bengal government’s order banning the public screening of movie ‘The Kerala Story’. The court said the May 8 order suffers from “overbreadth” and is not based on any material produced before Court. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said, “Prohibition by West Bengal is not tenable. The order of the additional secretary of WB shall remain stayed.”
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The apex court was hearing a plea filed by the makers of the contentious film, challenging its ban in West Bengal and its ‘de-facto ban’ in Tamil Nadu. Defending the ban, an affidavit was filed by the West Bengal government before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, 16 May, contending that the film presents “manipulated facts” and “contains hate speech in multiple scenes that may hurt communal sentiments and cause disharmony between the communities.”
Disclaimer to be added
CJI Chandrachud also directed the makers of The Kerala Story to give a proper disclaimer regarding the unsubstantiated figure ‘32,000’ mentioned in the film ‘The Kerala Story.’ Replying to the remark by CJI Chandrachud, Senior counsel Harish Salve, appearing for film producers, said that disclaimer -“there is no authentic data to back up the suggestion that the figure of conversions is 32,000 or any other established figure” & “the film represents the fictionalised version” of the issue- shall be added. Senior counsel Salve added that the disclaimer shall be added by 5 pm on May 20.
SC asks Tamil Nadu to ensure security
A bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud also directed the Tamil Nadu government to ensure all security arrangements be made to ensure the film’s screening and the safety of moviegoers.
While passing the instruction to Tamil Nadu government, 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 CBFC.
Petitions seeking ban posted in July
The petitions seeking the ban on the film have been posted in July. The court indicated that it might have to watch the film as the Madras high court has already dismissed a petition challenging the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) certification.
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