The Supreme Court on Thursday, while staying the ban imposed by the West Bengal government on The Kerala Story, directed the State of Tamil Nadu to provide security to the theatres screening the controversial movie.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice J.B. Pardiwala observed that the May 8 order suffered from ‘overbreadth’ and was not tenable on the basis of the material produced before the Court.
The Apex Court said it found no ground to uphold the West Bengal government’s order of May 8, which prohibited exhibition of the movie in the entire state under Section 6(1) read with Section 4 of the West Bengal Cinemas Regulation Act and hence, the impugned state order was stayed.
Taking note of the submission made by the Counsel of Tamil Nadu, the Bench noted that the screening of the film has not been directly or indirectly prohibited in the state.
However, keeping the safety of moviegoers and cinema hall owners in mind, the Bench directed the Tamil Nadu government to provide adequate security to every cinema hall and make requisite arrangements for the safety of cinema goers.
It ruled that no express steps, whether tacit, should be taken in the State of Tamil Nadu to prevent the screening of the film.
The Apex Court further directed the filmmakers to ensure that the flick carried a disclaimer clearly stating that it was a fictionalised version of events and that there was no authentic data to back up the figure of conversion (of women to Islam) was 32,000.
The Bench ordered the filmmakers to put the disclaimer in the movie by May 20.
It further listed the petition challenging the Madras High Court order upholding the certificate given by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to the movie for listing after summer vacations, saying that it would first have to see the film for this purpose.
The Kerala Story is a Hindi movie, which shows the story of four college girls from different religions in Kerala, who are forced to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a terrorist organisation banned in India.
(Case title: Qurban Ali vs Central Board of Film Certification and Anr)
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