'The Kerala Story' Movie : Supreme Court To Hear On May 15 Plea Challenging Kerala HC's Refusal To Stay Film's Exhibition

The Supreme Court today agreed to list on May 15 2023 a plea challenging the Kerala High Court order refusing to stay the release of the controversial film 'The Kerala Story', which hit theatres on May 5 2023. The plea moved by journalist Qurban Ali was mentioned by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal before a bench comprising CJI DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha. 

At the outset, Sibal highlighted that the matter was of one of some urgency and said–

"This is pertaining to the Kerala story. This has some sort of urgency. The High Court has passed the order, they've refused the interim stay."

Upon his request, the court agreed to hear the matter on May 15 2023. 

On May 5, a division bench of the Kerala High Court comprising Justice N. Nagaresh and Justice Sophy Thomas had refused to stay the release of the film. The Court observed that the film only said that it was 'inspired by true events' and that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had certified the film for public viewing. The bench also watched the trailer of the film and opined that there was nothing offensive to any particular community in it. The bench also noted that none of the petitioners had watched the film and that the producers had added a disclaimer that the film was a fictionalised version of events. However, the High Court also recorded the submission of the producer that the teaser of the movie, which claimed that over 32,000 women from Kerala were recruited to ISIS, will be removed from their social media accounts.

Earlier, the Supreme Court too had refused to entertain a plea against the movie. The bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud had asked the petitioner to move the High Court again for relief. 

"You must think of the actors, producer- they have all put their labour. You must be very careful about staying films. The market will decide if it is not up to the mark", CJI had said.