'The Kerala Story' Row: SC Agrees To Hear Plea Challenging Bengal's Ban On Film; Hearing On May 12

SUPREME Court on Wednesday listed the petition challenging West Bengal government’s ban on the screening of ‘The Kerala Story’ for hearing on May 12. The petitioners have claimed that they are “losing money everyday” and asked the bench to post the matter for hearing early.

The bench - of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha - hearing the plea had informed the petitioners that it has already listed another petition in the matter, that challenges Kerala High Court’s order refusing to stay the release of this controversial film, for hearing on May 15 and their plea can be heard on that same day. It was then that the petitioners’ counsel Harish Salve said that their plea needs to be heard early since they are “losing money everyday”.

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Advocate Salve said that that his clients are challenging the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government’s ban and Tamil Nadu government’s “de-facto” ban on the release of ‘The Kerala Story’. This film has caused much controversy ever since its trailer was released. It shows a story of three Kerala women who were trapped by their husbands and recruited by the terror group Islamic State. The film allegedly claims that 32,000 women have been recruited for the terror-group in this way. It released in cinema halls on May 5.

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Mamata Banerjee had announced a ban on the screening of the movie on May 8 with intention to prevent “any incident of hatred and violence”. On May 5, the Kerala High Court had ruled that the trailer of the film did not contain anything that was offensive to any particular community. The producers of the movie had told the High Court that they do not want to retain an “offending teaser” which contained a claimed that “32,000 women” from Kerala have converted to Islam and joined a terrorist organisation.

The High Court also held that the film does have disclaimer that says this is a fictionalised and dramatised version of real events and that the film does not claim the depiction of factuality.

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"In view of the disclaimer also, we are not inclined to pass an interim order restraining the respondents from exhibiting the film as such. In view of the above and taking into consideration the statement made by the producer that the producer does not intend to retain the offending teaser in their social media handles, no further orders are necessary in this petition at this stage," the High Court had said in its order. The petitioners had claimed that the film falsely portrays facts and insulted the people of Kerala.

(With agency inputs)