The Supreme Court on Friday, May 12, has questioned the Tamil Nadu state government on safety measures for film theatres in connection with the screening of The Kerala Story. While the film is not banned in the state, the Tamil Nadu Multiplex Association decided to halt screenings of the controversial film on May 7. The association had cited potential law and order problems if the screenings continued. The film became a subject of controversy because of its alleged propaganda against Kerala and Muslims.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and PS Narasimha was hearing a plea by the filmmakers against the ban on the film in West Bengal, announced by chief minister Mamata Banerjee on May 8. The filmmakers also accused the Tamil Nadu government of engineering a “de facto ban”.
Further, the filmmakers submitted to the Supreme Court that a state government has no power to ban a movie which has been certified for public viewing by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The filmmakers also claimed that the state government cannot cite law and order issues to stop the screening of the movie. They argued that it will result in the violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed to them.
While demanding that the West Bengal government justify the ban, the apex court asked both the Tamil Nadu and West Bengal state governments to file separate responses. The court also posed a series of queries to the West Bengal government in connection with the ban on The Kerala Story saying that the film is being screened in theatres in most other parts of the country.
Senior advocate AM Singhvi, appearing for the West Bengal state government said that according to intelligence inputs received by the government, screening of the film may cause a law and order problem, and breach peace among different communities.
The court told Singhvi that “the film has been released in the rest of the country, West Bengal is no different from any other part of the country.”
The CJI asked the West Bengal government, “If the film can run in peace in other parts of the country, why should the state of West Bengal ban the film? If the public does not find it worth seeing, they will not see the film.”
The CJI further said, “[The film] is running in different parts of the country, which has a similar democratic profile as the state of West Bengal. Why should you not allow a film to run?"
Amit Anand Tiwari, appearing for the Tamil Nadu government, contended that there is no ban on the movie in the state. It is also to be noted that, at the time of multiplex owners withdrawing screening of The Kerala Story in Tamil Nadu, sources told TNM that distributors had bought the film for screening only in Coimbatore, Chennai and Chennai suburbs.