Supreme Court Rejects Plea to Halt Release of "The Kerala Story" Movie, Citing Inappropriate Remedy
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court declined to entertain an interlocutory application seeking to challenge the release of the movie "The Kerala Story". The application was filed in a pending writ petition that sought action against hate speech crimes. Advocates argued that the movie amounted to "audio-visual hate propaganda" and was the "worst instance of hate speech".
However, the bench consisting of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna opined that challenging the release of a movie through an interlocutory application was not an appropriate remedy. They suggested that the petitioner approach the High Court instead of seeking redressal directly from the Supreme Court.
The senior advocate, Kapil Sibal, later joined the proceedings and requested the bench to review the teaser and trailer of the movie. He highlighted that the trailer had already garnered 16 million views and that the movie was slated for release in multiple languages. Despite Sibal's arguments, the Supreme Court refused to halt the release of the film.
Supreme Court Refuses to Consider Interlocutory Application Challenging Release of "The Kerala Story" Movie
The Supreme Court reiterated its stance on Tuesday that an interlocutory application was not an appropriate remedy to challenge the release of a movie. The application was filed in a pending writ petition that sought action against hate speech crimes.
During the hearing, Justice KM Joseph pointed out that once a movie has been certified by the Central Board of Film Certification, the Courts cannot interfere unless the certification is challenged in a substantive petition. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal argued that the petitioner had opted for the interlocutory application due to the limited time available before the movie's release.
However, Justice Joseph emphasized that challenging the release of a movie through an interlocutory application was not a viable option. He suggested that the petitioner should file a substantive petition to challenge the certification. Justice BV Nagarathna also opined that not every challenge could be brought before the Supreme Court.
Sibal referred to the case of the "UPSC jihad" show of Sudarshan News TV, where the Supreme Court had intervened to stop the telecast. However, Justice Joseph stated that the petitioner's approach was not appropriate and that the Court could not consider the interlocutory application.
Although Sibal promised to file a substantive petition seeking urgent listing, the Supreme Court refused to consider the interlocutory application and emphasized that the appropriate remedy was through a substantive petition challenging the certification of the movie.
Supreme Court Rejects Interlocutory Application Challenging Release of "The Kerala Story" Movie
The Supreme Court has refused to entertain an interlocutory application challenging the release of the movie "The Kerala Story" and directed the petitioner to file a substantive petition challenging the certification of the movie. The bench comprising Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna observed that an interlocutory application was not an appropriate remedy to challenge the certification of a movie.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for the petitioner, argued that the movie was a worst instance of hate speech and that urgent intervention was required before its release on Friday. The movie, directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, has attracted controversy for its claims that nearly 32,000 women from Kerala were converted through deceit into Islam and forced to join ISIS.
The Kerala Chief Minister, the ruling party of the state CPI(M), and the opposition Congress have criticized the movie, stating that it peddles false propaganda to create communal hatred and portrays the state in a negative light. However, the Supreme Court emphasized that challenging the release of a movie through an interlocutory application was not a viable option and suggested that the appropriate remedy was to challenge the certification of the movie in a substantive petition.
TAGS: Supreme Court interlocutory application The Kerala Story movie release Justices KM Joseph BV Nagarathna hate speech crimes Nizam Pasha audio-visual hate propaganda Kapil Sibal Central Board of Film Certification substantive petition Sudipto Sen Vipul Amrutlal Shah communal hatred false propaganda Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan CPI(M) Congress Islam ISIS.
