'The Kerala Story' film release; SC asks petitioners to approach Kerala High Court, seek early hearing
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The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to consider writ petitions filed against the controversial movie "The Kerala Story".
The petitions were filed against the film which has by now triggered wide debates and controversy because of its portrayal of women from Kerala being enticed by ISIS into its after conversion.
The bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud however gave liberty to the petitioners to seek remedy in the Kerala High Court before the scheduled release of the movie on May 5.
The petitioners pointed out that the Kerala High Court is already seized of the matter through petitions pending before it, but they are posted for May 5, which is the scheduled release day, legal news portal Livelaw reported.
While Grover's petition sought the addition of a disclaimer to the film to state that it is wholly fictional, Pasha's petition sought a complete ban on the movie.
When Grover raised the point of the dates of case posting and film's release being the same, the bench gave the petitioners liberty to seek a hearing before the said date. Senior Advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the movie makers, stated that they are not agreeable to adding the disclaimer.
The bench comprising CJI DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha decided to dispose of the writ petitions, after observing that the reliefs sought by the petitioners under Article 32 of the Constitution are capable of being sought before the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution.
The bench also observed that the "High Court may consider the request for an early listing".
Explaining that the petitioner is not seeking a complete ban of the movie, Grover said, "The opening shot says the film is true. It has been advertised as a true story. That movie vilifies the entire community. There is no disclaimer. It's a pan India release".
Nizam Pasha, appearing for Jamiat, however clarified that his petition is seeking different reliefs and are seeking to stop the release of the movie itself and not just a modification of its disclaimer.
The film directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah has attracted controversy for making claims that nearly 32,000 women from Kerala were converted through deceit into Islam and forced to join ISIS. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the ruling party of the state CPI(M) and the opposition Congress have come out against the movie, saying that it was peddling false propaganda to create communal hatred and to portray the state in a bad light.
