NEW DELHI: The West Bengal government's order to prohibit the movie "The Kerala Story" was stayed by the Supreme Court on Thursday.
The Kerala Story was banned from theatres in West Bengal by an order made on May 8 by that administration, a bench presided over by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said. However, the court plans to overturn that decision.
The court ordered Tamil Nadu to provide sufficient protection to every cinema hall for the safe screening of "The Kerala Story" and to ensure the safety of spectators. The court further ordered the state not to directly or indirectly obstruct the playing of the movie.
In the course of the hearing, the bench informed senior attorney A.M. Singhvi, who was arguing on behalf of the West Bengal government, that the state government had banned the movie due to the actions of 13 individuals. Unless you're broadcasting sports or cartoons to them. The countrywide release of the movie was mentioned by the supreme court. The demographics of West Bengal are considerably distinct and must be taken into account, he said.
You can't expect demographics to be the same everywhere, the Chief Justice added. Power must be used proportionately. The Chief Justice advised Singhvi, "If you didn't like it, don't watch the film," and added, "You cannot make fundamental rights dependent on public displays of emotion."
If there is an incident related to the movie's screening, the state government may take action in a certain district, but the movie cannot be prohibited statewide, the Chief Justice informed the West Bengal government's attorney.
The West Bengal government has argued before the Supreme Court that the movie "The Kerala Story" is based on falsified facts and contains hate speech in numerous sequences, which could lead to conflict between the groups. This argument serves as justification for banning the film's screening.
In a counter affidavit, the state government claimed that allowing the film to be shown would lead to unrest and not be in the interests of justice.
The affidavit stated that the movie was "based on manipulated facts and contains hate speech in multiple scenes that may hurt communal sentiments and cause disharmony between the communities which will ultimately lead to a law and order situation."
The state government claimed that by exercising its authority under section 6 (1) of the West Bengal Cinemas (Regulation) Act, it has imposed a ban on the film's exhibition in order to preserve public order and for the welfare of the general public.
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