The petitioner in PIL had urged the court to direct Controversial movie's director, production company to remove certain statements from film.
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Plea of Controversial Movie 'The Kerala Story' rejected by the Apex Court
The plea seeking a stay on the movie's release was first mentioned on May 2, which was refused by the apex court. The plea was said to be a "worst kind of hate speech” and an “audio-visual propaganda”. The matter was mentioned again for urgent listing on May 3, but the court refused to entertain it, asking the petitioners to move the high court. Today, the petitioner mentioned the matter out of turn, contending that the acting chief justice of the Kerala high court had said he would assign a bench but the bench could not take up the matter. The bench said that the high court has already applied its mind and passed a detailed order declining to stay the movie, and that the CBFC has already certified the film.
Care Must Be Taken While Staying Exhibition of Controversial Movie
The bench, headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and comprising Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala, observed that challenges are faced by film producers, and at the end, somebody has invested money, and the actors have dedicated their labour. They added that courts must be careful while staying exhibition of films, and that the market will decide if the movie is up to the mark.
High Court's Stand on the Plea of Controversial Movie 'The Kerala Story'
The high court had listed the matter for hearing on May 5, the day set for the release, and had given time to the counsel appearing for the Centre and the censor board to obtain the CBFC's stand on the plea before the next date of hearing.