Supreme Court stays ban on The Kerala Story in West Bengal, asks Tamil Nadu to provide security

Supreme court stays ban on the kerala story ban in west bengal directs tamil nadu government to give security - Tamil Movie Cinema News

The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the West Bengal government's ban on the public screenings of the controversial Hindi film, The Kerala Story. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, and comprising Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala informed that it is the state government's duty to maintain law and order for a film's screening after it has been granted certification by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), news agency PTI reported. The court ordered, "Prima facie we are of the view that the prohibition by West Bengal is not tenable on the basis of material before. Thus, the order banning the film is stayed."

The Apex Court also directed the makers of The Kerala Story to make sure that a disclaimer is carried in the film stating it is a fictionalized account of events and that there's no information or data to back its claim about 32,000 women from Kerala being forced to convert to Islam and joining ISIS. The court further stated that the disclaimer must be included in the screenings of the film by 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 20, and that "there is no authenticated data to back up the suggestion on the figure of conversion and the film represents the fictionalized version."

The Supreme Court also directed the Tamil Nadu government to provide appropriate security to all cinema halls playing The Kerala Story and ensure the movie-goers' safety after taking note of the submissions that there was no "de facto" ban on the screenings of the film in the state. "No steps whether tacit or express, formal or informal shall be taken by Tamil Nadu… to prevent its screening," the court said. Pleas challenging the CBFC certification granted to The Kerala Story will next be heard in the second week of July, with the Apex Court adding that it would watch the film before arriving at a decision. 

The Kerala Story has been in the midst of controversy even before its release, with strong objections raised by political leaders from across India, who labeled it to be a propaganda film. The Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government banned screenings of the film starting May 8 citing a threat to law and order in the state. Directed by Sudipto Sen and produced under the Sunshine Pictures banner, the film stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani, and Siddhi Idnani in the lead roles.

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