The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear on May 12 a plea by the producers of controversial multilingual film 'The Kerala Story' against the ban on screening of the film by the West Bengal government.
Senior advocate Harish Salve mentioned the matter for urgent listing before a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha.
Salve said the petition challenges the ban by the West Bengal government and the "de-facto" ban in Tamil Nadu.
The bench said it had on Tuesday posted for May 15 a separate plea against the Kerala High Court order refusing to stay the release of the movie and the fresh plea would also be heard on that day.
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However, the bench agreed to list the plea for hearing on May 12 after Salve said, "We are losing money everyday."
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday ordered an immediate ban on the screening of the controversial film 'The Kerala Story' in a bid to avoid “any incident of hatred and violence”.
"To avoid any incident of hatred and violence and to maintain peace in the state, the CM has directed an immediate ban on screening of The Kerala Story. Action will be taken against any cinema hall that violates the ban," the official told PTI.
Earlier in the day, Banerjee described 'The Kerala Story' as a distorted movie, aimed at defaming the southern state.
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“I do not support CPM people. They are working with the BJP. They needed to be criticised first. I am telling the Kerala government, it is unfortunate. Your party is working with the BJP,” the Trinamool Congress supremo said at a press briefing at the state secretariat, as per media reports.
'The Kerala Story' starring Adah Sharma was released in cinemas on May 5.
(With PTI Inputs)
