Hyderabad: Three separate cases related to the movie The Kerala Story will come up for hearing in the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The producers of The Kerala Story, which chronicles the ordeals of three women from Kerala who are allegedly forcefully converted and made to join the terrorist outfit ISIS, and enjoyed a robust financial success hitting the mark of nearly Rs 156.69 crore, appealed against the ban on the film in West Bengal by Mamata Banerjee-led government and Tamil Nadu exhibitors' decision to take it off theatres.
In one among the three hearings, the Supreme Court agreed to hear on Wednesday a petition filed by the producers of ‘The Kerala Story’ movie challenging the ban on the film’s screening in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu resulting in huge losses.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud posted the matter for hearing on May 12 after the matter was mentioned for urgent listing on Wednesday. Senior advocate Harish Salve who represented the film producers – Sunshine Pictures Private Limited and Vipul Amrutlal Shah, told the Court, “We are losing money every day, and now another state has also decided to impose a ban.”
In another case, the Supreme Court said it will hear on Wednesday a plea challenging the Kerala High Court order refusing to stay the release of the movie ‘The Kerala Story’ which hit theatres on May 5.
The appeal was filed by journalist Qurban Ali and was mentioned by senior advocate Kapil Sibal on Monday. The bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala agreed to list it for hearing on the day.
Another case pertaining to the release of The Kerala story will also be heard in the Supreme Court on the day. It is about an appeal by petitioners, who objected to the grant of certification by CBFC to the movie.
On May 5, the Kerala High Court had refused to stay the release of the movie The Kerala Story saying that the trailer does not contain anything objectionable to any particular community as a whole.
The producers of the film submitted before the court that they do not intend to retain an "offending teaser" which contained a statement that "32,000 women" from Kerala were converted and joined a terrorist organisation. The producers argued that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had examined the movie and found it suitable for public exhibition.
