The Supreme Court today (May 18) stayed the West Bengal government’s May 8 order banning The Kerala Story in the state. A bench of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Pardiwala said that it was the duty of the state government to maintain law and order as the film was duly certified by the Central Board of Film Certification.
The bench added, “The legal provision cannot be used to put a premium on public intolerance” as otherwise, every film could be affected. It said, the prohibition order by the West Bengal government was not tenable. It added that in Tamil Nadu, additional security could be provided for cinemas screening the film, and requisite arrangements could be made for people who wanted to see the film. “No steps shall be taken by Tamil Nadu or its officers or instrumentalities including police to prevent screening of the film,” the court explained.
The advocates for producer Vipul Shah said, the states could not sit in appeal over grant of certification to the film. They also explained that the film was running all over India, and the apprehensions against it were fictional.
Meanwhile, Vipul Shah, at the insistence of the apex court, said that he would add to the disclaimer that “the filmmaker has no authentic data to back the figure of 32,000 conversions of Hindu and Christians to Islam” and that the content was a fictionalised account.
While the West Bengal government had banned the film soon after its release, the Tamil Nadu government did not ban it, but exhibitors in the state withdrew the film from their cinemas owing to security concerns. Producer Vipul Shah moved the Supreme Court against the ban and the shadow ban.