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The Supreme Court has ended its proceedings on the petitions related to the film ‘The Kerala Story’, which will spark huge political, social and legal debates across the country in the year 2023. A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana, while disposing of the petitions seeking cancellation of the CBFC Certification of the film, said that after the release of the film in theaters and on OTT, these petitions have now become infructuous. However, the court left open for the future the broader legal question related to challenging the certificates given to films by the Central Board of Film Certification.
What was the main controversy regarding ‘The Kerala Story’?
The film ‘The Kerala Story’ directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amritlal Shah was released in May 2023. The initial teaser and publicity of the film claimed that around 32,000 non-Muslim girls from Kerala were converted through deception and brainwashing and sent to Syria and Afghanistan to join the terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIS).
Kerala’s political parties, Muslim organizations and civil rights activists expressed strong opposition to this figure and termed it as one-sided propaganda and hate speech. The producers later agreed in court, revised the figure and clarified that the film is based on the stories of three specific women.
Petitioners’ argument: ‘Film is releasing on OTT, rules of hate speech should be fixed’
During the hearing in the Supreme Court, lawyer Nizam Pasha, appearing for the petitioners (Kurban Ali and B.R. Arvindakshan), argued that despite the release of the film, the legal issues were still alive. He said that the film is still available on OTT platforms.
The lawyer demanded from the court that the Supreme Court should set strict guidelines regarding the certification of films that allegedly spread hatred and disturb social harmony. Along with this, he argued that under the existing Cinematograph Act, there is no statutory remedy available to the third party (aggrieved citizens) other than filing a writ petition in the court against the CBFC certificate of a film.
Supreme Court’s blunt comment: ‘Will have to wait for the next film’
Hearing the arguments of the petitioners, the bench said that this film has been released long ago and no specific order is required in this regard. During the hearing, Justice Joymalya Bagchi made a light comment, saying, “This case will have to wait for another film… When another controversial film comes, then we will go into the depth of this legal question.”
At the same time, the Chief Justice told the petitioner that if they want general guidelines to stop hate speech in films, then they can file a separate comprehensive writ petition for this. With this, the bench disposed of all the pending petitions, leaving open the question of law related to judicial review of CBFC certification.
Manufacturers’ petition also returned, West Bengal ban case closed
During the same hearing, the petition filed by the film’s producers (Sunshine Pictures Pvt. Ltd. and Vipul Amritlal Shah) was also formally withdrawn. The petition was filed after the West Bengal government had banned the screening of the film in the state citing law and order.
The Supreme Court had put an interim stay on this ban of the state government in May 2023 itself. Now that the theatrical run of the film has been completed, the producers have withdrawn their application.