New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday banned the West Bengal government’s 8 May order that banned the screening of the movie “The Kerala Story” in the state.
The apex court, however, asked the makers of the film to put a disclaimer by 5 pm Saturday that would state there was no authentic data to back their initial claim that 32,000 women had been converted to Islam in Kerala. The disclaimer should also say that the film represented a fictionalised version of the subject matter, the top court said.
While advertising the movie, the filmmakers had put in their initial trailer that 32,000 women had been converted in Kerala but had later revised that figure to three.
On the Bengal ban, a bench of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Pardiwala said: “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.”
Petitioners had also challenged a de facto ban in Tamil Nadu, where theatre owners have allegedly refused to screen the movie.
The top court noted Tamil Nadu government’s submission that it had not directly and indirectly prohibited the screening. The bench directed the government to provide adequate security to all cinema halls and also to movie-goers. “No express steps whether tacit etc shall be taken to prevent screening of the film,” the court said.
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