A bench of the Kerala High Court on Friday afternoon lifted the stay imposed by a single-judge bench on the screening of ‘Kerala Story 2: Goes Further’.
The ruling paves the way for the release of the controversial 2023 film, a sequel to “Kerala Story”, directed by Kamakhya Narayan Singh and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah. The film was scheduled to be released on February 27.
A bench of Justices SA Dharmadhikari and PV Balakrishnan stayed the interim order passed by a bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas on the release of the film on Thursday, relying on previous rulings of the Supreme Court in cases where the certification of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is treated as a presumption of the existence of an expert body looking into the impact of the film on society.
“The above decisions therefore clearly indicate that once the certificate is issued, there is, prima facie, a presumption that the authority concerned has taken into account all the guidelines, including public order, and that if any problem arises due to the release of the film, it is the duty of the state to maintain it,” the division bench said in its order.
“This assumption implies that the entire film has been judged from the point of view of its overall effect, having regard to the principles set out in Section 5B of the Cinematography Act 1952 and the relevant guidelines,” she added.
The bench noted that on the basis of some excerpts and without watching the film, the finding of the single judge bench that the guidelines on certification were not taken into consideration by the CBFC could not be accepted.
He stated that the inclusions and amendments made by the film producers on the directions of the CBFC “reinforce the fact that there was application of mind on the part of the CBFC while awarding the certificate.”
A set of three petitions were filed before the Supreme Court against the screening of the film and seeking cancellation of the clearance given by the CBFC. The petitions alleged that the film’s teaser and trailer contain scenes and dialogues that unfairly distort Kerala and could incite communal violence in the state.
All major parties, except the BJP in Kerala, have opposed the content of the film, terming it a propaganda film full of fake narratives and aimed at creating communal strife in society. Elections are scheduled to be held in Kerala in early summer.
Reacting to the court order, Vipul Amrutlal Shah, the film’s producer, said: “Neither our film nor I nor any member of my team is against Kerala or the people of Kerala…but if something goes wrong in God’s own country, it is our effort to reach out to those people and rectify that wrong.”
