NEW DELHI, May 12: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to the West Bengal and Tamil Nadu governments why the movie “The Kerala Story” had been banned in these two states when it was running peacefully in the rest of the country.
Seeking to know the rationale behind the ban order, the apex court asked, “Why should West Bengal ban the movie? It 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,” observed a bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha.
Though the movie has not been banned in Tamil Nadu, theatre owners have decided not to screen it over law and order concerns, a move that the makers claimed was a “de facto ban.” Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the West Bengal government, cited intelligence inputs to claim there may be a law and order problem.
The court also sought to know about the security provided to theatres screening the movie in Tamil Nadu. It told the state’s counsel that the government cannot look the other way when theatres are attacked. The matter has been posted to next Wednesday.
The Sudipto Sen directorial sparked controversy with its claim that 32,000 women in Kerala were forced to convert to Islam and they joined ISIS, which the Opposition alleged was a false claim. Official sources claimed that only three women had converted to Islam and had joined the ISIS which in the movie had been highly exaggerated to 32,000. Some opposition parties had also alleged that it was a BJP-sponsored movie to create communal divisions.
West Bengal was the first state to ban ‘The Kerala Story.’ In a notification on Monday, the government said it has prohibited the movie’s screening to avoid “any incident of hatred or violence to maintain law and order in the state.”
The makers of the movie had challenged the Bengal ban in the Supreme Court, citing they were losing money every day. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said the movie was aimed at defaming the state of Kerala and condemning its people. She also targeted the BJP for “creating communal politics.”
‘The Kerala Story’, produced by Vipul Shah, depicts how a group of women were allegedly forced to convert to Islam and recruited by the ISIS terror group. While the movie faced obstacles in Opposition-ruled states, it received tax reliefs in BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for producers of the movie, said there is de facto ban in Tamil Nadu as theatres screening the movie are being threatened and they have dropped the screenings. “For West Bengal, we are seeking quashing of the ban order,” he said.
The CJI, as such, told the Tamil Nadu government: “We would like to know… what are the specific administrative arrangements made by you… because to my mind, the state government cannot say we will look the other way when people attack theatres, burn chairs…” “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.
Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Monday had ordered a ban on the film, citing threat to law and order in the state. After a press conference at the state administration headquarters, Mamata ordered Chief Secretary Harikrishna Dwivedi to issue a statewide ban, saying, “The film won’t be shown in any hall in Bengal.”
The film, which has been accused by non-BJP parties of spreading falsehoods regarding conversion of women to Islam in Kerala and their migration abroad to join the ISIS, has also run into problems in Tamil Nadu, where, the Tamil Nadu Theatre and Multiplex Owners’ Association withdrew it from multiplexes.
(Manas Dasgupta)