The Kerala Story Ban: Supreme Court issued notice to Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal

The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the West Bengal government seeking a reason behind the ban on the controversial film ‘The Kerala Story’ in the state. The Kerala Story Ban: Supreme Court issued notice to Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.

A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha said that the film “is being screened in the rest of the country, there appears to be no reason for a ban on its screening”. West Bengal is not different from any other part of the country. Why will the state of West Bengal not allow the film to run?”, the top court asked.

The court has issued notices to West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. Though the movie has not been banned in Tamil Nadu, theatre owners have decided not to screen it over law and order concerns, a move that the makers claimed was a “de facto ban”.

The matter has been posted to next Wednesday. The Sudipto Sen directorial sparked controversy with its claim that 32,000 women in Kerala were forced to convert to Islam and they joined ISIS, which the Opposition alleged was a false claim. West Bengal was the first state to ban ‘The Kerala Story’, saying is it “likely to cause a breach of peace”.

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In a notification on Monday, the government said it has prohibited the movie’s screening to avoid “any incident of hatred or violence to maintain law and order in the state.” The makers of the movie had challenged the Bengal ban in the Supreme Court, citing they were losing money every day.

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Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said the movie was aimed at defaming the state of Kerala and condemning its people. She also targeted the BJP for “creating communal politics”. ‘The Kerala Story’, produced by Vipul Shah, depicts how a group of women were allegedly forced to convert to Islam and recruited by the ISIS terror group.