High Court Pauses Release Of ‘The Kerala Story 2’, Say Censors Didn’t Abide By Rules

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Thursday stayed the release of ‘The Kerala Story 2’.

A single-judge bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, hearing petition challenging the film’s censor certificate, said that ‘The Kerala Story 2’ cannot be released on its scheduled date of February 27.

Questioning the U/A certificate awarded to the film, the judge said it appears the censor board failed to apply its mind while clearing the release of ‘The Kerala Story 2’, Live Law reported.

“Prima facie, these guidelines do not appear to have been borne in mind by the Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC) while granting certification, and there is a manifest disregard of the applicable law that necessitates this Court to interfere,” the High Court observed in its order.

The court cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in Atul Mishra vs Union of India to state that it is “constitutionally impermissible” for anyone — State or non-State actors — to vilify or denigrate any community through mediums such as speeches, memes, cartoons or visual arts, according to Live Law.

In his petition, Sreedev Namboodiri, a biologist, alleged that the film’s trailer portrayed Kerala in an extremely negative light. He said the teaser “shocked his conscience” by portraying Kerala in a manner that could harm the state’s reputation, and has the potential to stigmatise an entire region and misrepresent its social fabric.

The high court said the petitioner’s apprehensions should be viewed in the context of the film being a sequel. The bench referred to Supreme Court’s observations in S Rangarajan vs P Jagjivan Ram case that while one film may not significantly alter attitudes, “continual exposure to films of a similar character will produce a change.”

In its order, Justice Thomas allowed applications seeking additional documents.

The Kerala High Court issued notices to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), the CBFC, and the film’s producer.

‘The Kerala Story 2’, directed by Kamakhya Narayan Singh and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, tells the story of young Hindu women being lured into interfaith marriages, then assaulted, stripped of their rights, and forced to convert to Islam.

The film features Ulka Gupta, Aditi Bhatia and Aishwarya Ojha in the lead roles.