The Supreme Court today (May 12) chided the West Bengal government for banning The Kerala Story. It also asked the Tamil Nadu government to explain why it had banned the film. It was hearing a petition filed by producer Vipul Shah against the ban imposed on the controversial film by the two governments.
Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud wondered why the film could not be screened in West Bengal if it was fit for screening all over the country. He said, “Let the people decide if the film is good or not.”
The apex court on May 10 agreed to hear on May 12 (today) a plea by Vipul Shah against the West Bengal government’s ban on screening of his The Kerala Story after he told the court that they were “losing money everyday”. The matter was mentioned for urgent listing before a bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and P.S. Narasimha.
On May 11, the bench said, it had on May 9 posted for May 15 a separate plea against the Kerala high court’s order refusing to stay the release of the film. It added that Vipul Shah’s petition would also be heard on the same day (May 15). However, the bench later agreed to list the plea for hearing on May 12.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on May 8 ordered an immediate ban on the film to avoid “any incident of hatred and violence”.