KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Friday granted permission for the release of ‘The Kerala Story 2 – Goes Beyond’, staying a single judge’s order halting the film’s screening for 15 days. The order paves the way for the release of the film in more than 1,800 theatres across the country and in 355 centres abroad.
A division bench comprising Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice P V Balakrishnan issued the order on an appeal filed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, proprietor of Sunshine Pictures, Mumbai, seeking to quash the single judge’s order. The division bench, which had reserved its order after an urgent hearing that lasted around two hours on Thursday night, passed the interim order at 4pm on Friday.
Earlier on Thursday, the single judge had stayed the release of the movie — originally scheduled for Friday — after verifying the contents of the teaser and finding that it had a “prima facie potential to distort public perception and disturb communal harmony”.
The division bench, in its order, said once a certificate has been issued, there is, prima facie, a presumption that the authority concerned has taken into account all the guidelines, including public order. “...if any issue of public order arises due to the release of movie, it is the duty of state to maintain it,” the order said.
There was due application of mind by CBFC, says court
The division bench observed that this presumption includes that the film has been judged in its entirety from the point of view of its overall impact, taking into consideration the principles enunciated in Section 5B of the Cinematograph Act, 1952, and the relevant guidelines.
“In such circumstances, merely on the basis of a few clippings and without viewing the movie, the finding of the single judge that the guidelines for certification had not been borne in mind by the CBFC while granting certification cannot be countenanced,” it said.
The court also noted that the insertions, excisions, and modifications carried out by the makers of the film as per the directions of the CBFC reinforce the fact that there was due application of mind on the part of the CBFC while granting the certificate. In the light of the discussions, we are of the view that the single judge’s order interdicting the release of the movie is liable to be stayed,” the division bench held.