NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court issued a summons for answers from the governments of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu on Friday in response to a plea filed by the producers of "The Kerala Story" challenging the ban in the two states.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha questioned the West Bengal administration, stating the film is being screened without issue in the rest of the country and there appears to be no basis for the restriction.
"Movie is running in the rest of the country including in states having similar demographic composition and nothing has happened. This has nothing to do with the artistic value of the film. If people do not like the movie, they will not watch the movie," the bench informed senior lawyer Abhishek Singhvi, who was representing the West Bengal government.
According to Singhvi, there may be a law and order problem, and peace between different populations may be violated. The court also urged the Tamil Nadu government to detail the security measures put in place for venues showing "The Kerala Story."
"The state government cannot say that it will look the other way when theatres are attacked and chairs are being burnt," The bench told advocate Amit Anand Tiwari, who was representing the Tamil Nadu government, that the film is not banned.
Senior advocate Harish Salve, standing on behalf of the film's makers, stated that there is a de facto ban in Tamil Nadu since venues exhibiting the film have been threatened and have canceled screenings. "For West Bengal, we are seeking quashing of the ban order," he added.
"We are issuing notices to both the states and they may file their response by Wednesday. We will take up the matter on Thursday," the bench said. "The Kerala Story", starring Adah Sharma, was released in cinemas on May 5.
The film, directed by Sudipto Sen, alleges that women from Kerala were compelled to convert to Islam and recruited by the terrorist organisation Islamic State.
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