Supreme Court junks petitions challenging The Kerala Story, but leaves legal questions about CBFC certification open

The Supreme Court on Friday closed the proceedings on a batch of petitions relating to the controversial 2023 film, The Kerala Story , while leaving open the question of law relating to challenges to certification of films by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant-led bench on Friday disposed of dozens of cases which were filed either during the COVID-19 period or became infructuous due to the passage of time.

Dealing with two pleas seeking cancellation of CBFC certification of The Kerala Story, the bench, which also comprised Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, said that the petitions have become infructuous.

The third plea filed by the film's producers, Sunshine Pictures Pvt Ltd and Vipul Amritlal Shah, was withdrawn. The petition had challenged the then West Bengal government's decision to ban the film.

The top court, in May 2023, stayed the ban imposed by the state government. Advocate Nizam Pasha, appearing for petitioners Qurban Ali and B R Aravindakshan in the other two matters, submitted that the issues raised by his clients continued to survive despite the film having already been released.

Pasha pointed out that the Kerala High Court had disposed of a writ petition concerning the film after observing that the plea was not maintainable against the grant of a certificate to a movie by the CBFC.

He said that while the statutory remedy against CBFC certification was available to the producer, other persons aggrieved by the contents of a film had no such statutory remedy and were, therefore, required to approach the court through a writ petition. The bench, however, noted that the film had already been released.

Justice Bagchi observed that the question of law could be left open. "The litigation has to await another movie... another movie that is controversial, we will go into that question," Justice Bagchi said.

Pasha submitted that the petitioners had specifically sought cancellation of the film's certificate and pointed out that the movie continued to be available on OTT platforms. He also said the petitioners had initially approached the Supreme Court against an interim order of the high court.

But the high court subsequently disposed of the petition after noting that the Supreme Court was seized of the issue, he said. Pasha further urged the court to lay down guidelines for films which allegedly promote hate speech. "Guidelines have to be laid down for films that promote hate speech," he said.

"Alright, file a comprehensive writ petition seeking general guidelines," the CJI responded. The bench subsequently recorded that the question of law would remain open and granted the parties liberty to initiate appropriate proceedings in accordance with law.

The Kerala Story, directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, had triggered a major political and social controversy following its release in 2023. The film initially claimed that nearly 32,000 women from Kerala had been converted to Islam through deceit and forced to join the Islamic State (ISIS), a claim that drew strong criticism.