SC dismisses plea seeking stay on ‘Kerala Story’ over ‘hate speech’

The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea which sought a halt on the release of Hindi film The Kerala Story for promoting hate speech, according to Bar and Bench. The top court said the film has been certified by a board and the matter should be heard by an “appropriate forum”.

The plea was submitted before Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna, who are already hearing a hate-speech case against another film’s certification by the statutory body Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). However, the bench advised the petitioners to first move the high court concerned. It indicated that the matter could also have been mentioned before the Chief Justice of India first.  

The Kerala Story is reportedly about a group of women from Kerala who join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). While the movie is slated to release on May 5, the trailer has invited criticism from several quarters. Kerala's ruling CPI(M) and the opposition Congress party also criticised the film that has been directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah. They alleged that it is right-wing propaganda to promote a fake narrative.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate Nizam Pasha, who filed the plea petition, told the bench that the trailer for the film, which has garnered 16 million views, comprises “worst kind of hate speech”.

The top court bench said, “We cannot tag it. Why don't you move the concerned High Court first. See a board that has certified it through a process.”