Kerala High Court: In a batch of Writ Petitions seeking interim order to direct Government authorities and other respondents to suspend the circulation of teaser and trailer of the movie ‘The Kerala Story’ and to prohibit its’ exhibition, the Division Bench of N. Nagaresh* and Sophy Thomas, JJ. did not find anything offensive to a particular community as a whole and disposed of the matter without passing any interim orders.
The petitioners alleged that “the movie is based on incorrect and unverified facts and contains derogatory remarks against a community”. They further claimed that the release of ‘The Kerala Story’ will disrupt secular fabric in society since a particular community has been shown in a negative line, and that it has the tendency to disturb public order, decency and morality, particularly women and Muslim community.
The Court also watched the teaser and trailers of ‘The Kerala Story’. The Court pointed towards the grievance of the petitioners that the teaser contains erroneous statement of facts which may tarnish the image of a particular community, while noting the fact that the petitioners had not watched the movie.
The Court observed that The Kerala Story trailer does not contain anything offensive to a particular community as a whole. The Court expressed that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) being the competent authority examined the movie and found it suitable for public exhibition. The Censor Board also examined it considering various factors including public order and certified the film. The Court mentioned the disclaimer published by the producers along with the movie specifying fiction and dramatised version of events in the film, due to which, the Court was not inclined to pass an interim order restraining the exhibition of the film.
Considering the Producer’s statement to remove the teaser of ‘The Kerala Story’ from their social media handles, the Court said that no further orders are necessary at this stage. Hence, the Court disposed of the matter without staying the release of ‘The Kerala Story’.
[Advocate Anoop V.R. v. Union of India, 2023 SCC OnLine Ker 2974, Order dated 5-5-2023]
*Order by: Justice N. Nagaresh
Advocates who appeared in this case :
For Petitioner: Advocate Kaleeswaram Raj, Advocate Thulasi K. Raj, Advocate Aparna Narayan Menon, Advocate Chinnu Maria Antony;
For Respondents: Deputy Solicitor General of India Sri. S. Manu, Government Pleader Shilpa Soman, Advocate Ameet Naik, Advocate Madhu Chaudhary, Advocate Nithyesh Natraj, Advocate Sujoy Mukherjee, Senior Advocate Sri. S. Sreekumar, Advocate Vijay V. Paul, Advocate Thomas J. Anakkallunkal, Advocate Vaibhav. R Venkatesh.