Plea Filed Against Release of The Kerala Story: Supreme Court of India Declines Interim Relief

On Tuesday, a plea was filed before the Supreme Court of India by Advocate Nizam Pasha against the release of the upcoming movie, The Kerala Story. 

The plea was mentioned before a bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna, who have been hearing a case related to hate speech. 

Justice Joseph remarked that the matter cannot be filed as an interim application in the already pending case since the present case involves a certification of a movie by a statutory authority, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

The Kerala Story is a Hindi film about a group of women from Kerala who join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The movie has been met with criticism from the ruling CPI(M) and the opposition Congress party in Kerala, claiming that it is a propaganda movie that promotes a false narrative and agenda of right-wing organizations. 

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal argued that the trailer of the movie has already garnered 16 million views, and that a substantial petition would be filed the following day. However, Justice Nagarathna noted that the court cannot be directly approached for relief, and that the concerned High Court should be moved first.

The bench indicated that the plea should have been mentioned before the Chief Justice of India first. Justice Joseph asked if the movie was indeed about Kerala, to which Sibal replied in the affirmative.

The bench then concluded that the matter could not be addressed as an interim application in the already pending case. The Kerala Story is slated for release on May 5, Friday.

Also Read: Kerala High Court warns against petitions seeking ban on movies, says it may give them unnecessary publicity