Supreme Court Shelves The Kerala Story Petitions, Legal Implications Remain

The Supreme Court has closed the case related to The Kerala Story while opting not to settle the broader legal issue of whether and how the CBFC’s certification of a film can be challenged. A Chief Justice of India Surya Kant-led bench on Friday got rtd of dozens of cases which were filed either during the COVID-19 period or turned stagnant over a long span of time.

SC's Verdict On The Kerala Story Petitions

Justice Bagchi insisted that the question of law could be left open. “The litigation has to await another movie… another movie that is controversial, we will go into that question,” Justice Bagchi said.

While the SC has closed the case, advocate Nizam Pasha, representing petitioners Qurban Ali and B R Aravindakshan, contended that while the film has been released already, their concerns are very much prevalent. The lawyer also argued that filmmakers have the right to challenge the CBFC’s decision, while the general audience does not have any such provision and may, therefore, have to approach courts through writ petitions.

Pasha further urged the court to lay down guidelines for films which allegedly promote hate speech. “Guidelines have to be laid down for films that promote hate speech,” he said. “Alright, file a comprehensive writ petition seeking general guidelines,” the CJI responded.

The Kerala Story is a 2023 Hindi film directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah. The film features Adah Sharma in the lead role and circles women who are allegedly manipulated, converted to Islam and later recruited by ISIS.

Why Is The Kerala Story Controversial?

The film landed in controversy even before its release because its trailer initially claimed that 32,000 women from Kerala had been converted and recruited by ISIS. After the figures were heavily questioned and condemned as fictitious and misleading, the filmmakers later changed the wording to refer to the stories of three women. The film's highly dubious narratives around love jihad has been met with considerable scrutiny.

A plea was originally filed by the producers of The Kerala Story, countering West Bengal's decision to ban the screening of the film. The makers of the movie have also challenged the de facto ban imposed on the move in Tamil Nadu wherein an "alert" was ordered in expectation of protests, due to which theatres rescinded the official release.