BREAKING: Madras High Court Dismisses PIL Seeking Ban On 'The Kerala Story' Movie, Says Can't Assume It Will Create Problems

The Madras High Court on Thursday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation seeking ban on the release of the multilingual movie, "The Kerala Story". 

BR Aravindakshan, a Chennai-based journalist had filed the petition stating that the movie will affect the country's sovereignty and unity causing disturbance to the public order. He contended that the movie was an intentional attempt to portray the State of Kerala as a terrorist-supporting state. He also submits that if the movie is allowed to be released, it'll be a humiliation to the entire country as it'll create an impression that India is a country that produces terrorists.

When the case was taken up today, the vacation bench of Justice AD Jagadish Chandira and Justice C Saravanan dismissed the PIL after observing that the Kerala High Court and the Supreme Court had already dealt with the issue regarding the release of the movie. The court also asked the petitioners how they could assume that the movie would create law and order problems without watching the movie.

"Why are you coming so late? If you'd come earlier, we could've asked someone to watch the movie and decide.You have not seen the movie yet. How can you assume that there will be problems? Moreover, the Kerala High Court is already seized of the matter..We're dismissing this case, sir. The Kerala High Court and the Supreme Court have already dealt with the issue," Justice Chandira said.

The petitioner advocates challenged the certificate granted to the movie. It was contended that the movie was unfit for certification under Section 5(b) of the Cinematography Act which prevents certification if any part of the movie is found to be against the sovereignty, security, and integrity of the State. The petitioner submitted that the makers of the movie had distorted facts and had claimed that 32000 women have joined the ISIS organization. It was also submitted that even the Home Ministry did not have any data on such a large number of persons joining the terrorist organisation.

When asked if the movie was based on any empirical data or records, the petitioner submitted that the director of the movie had given interviews claiming that the figures were arrived at based on a speech by a former Chief Minister of Kerala. The petitioner submitted that the filmmakers were claiming that they were uncovering some truths and thus was based on the events happening in kerala.

Senior Counsel Satosh Parasaran, appearing for the filmmaker, submitted that the petition was not maintainable. He submitted that the Kerala High Court had already given a nod for the release of the movie and even the Supreme Court had rejected relief in a similar petition.

Case Title: BR Aravindakshan v. Union of India and others

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Mad) 134