The Kerala High Court on Friday stayed for two weeks a single judge’s interim order that had halted the release of the film “The Kerala Story 2 – Goes Beyond” for 15 days.
A division bench of Justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and P V Balakrishnan passed the order while hearing an appeal filed by the film’s producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah late on Thursday night, just hours after the single judge had ordered a stay on the movie’s release.
The bench had reserved its verdict on the appeal on Thursday night after hearing arguments from both sides. The detailed order from the court is still awaited. In his appeal, Shah argued that the film does not harm or insult the state of Kerala or any religious community.
His lawyers told the court that the movie only highlights what they described as a social evil. Shah also told the court that stopping the movie’s release would cause huge financial losses. He said the film was scheduled to be screened in about 1,500 theatres across India and more than 300 theatres abroad on February 27.
Earlier, the single judge had stayed the film’s release, observing that there appeared to be a clear non-application of mind by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) while granting clearance.
The judge had also said there was a prima facie possibility that the film could lead to communal disharmony or denigrate a community. Because of this concern, allowing its release without further scrutiny by higher authorities would not be legally proper.
The court had further observed that the content shown in the film’s teaser appeared to have the potential to distort public perception and disturb communal harmony.
Also read: 'The Kerala Story 2' release put on hold by HC
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