The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside the ban imposed by the West Bengal government on the screening of The Kerala Story and recorded the producer’s submission to clarify in the movie disclaimer that the film is a “fictionalised account of events” with no “authentic data” to back the suggestion that 32,000 women were converted to Islam in Kerala.
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A three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud recorded the submission by the Tamil Nadu government that there is no ban, tacit or explicit, on the screening of the movie in the State. The court directed the State to provide adequate security measures in theatres and for moviegoers.
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The court said the State-wide ban on the film in West Bengal suffered from “overbreadth”. It also directed the producers to make the changes in the disclaimer by 5 pm on May 20.
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‘Distortion of fact’
The official poster of The Kerala Story directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah. The film released in theatres on May 5. | Photo Credit: PTI
During the hearing, Chief Justice Chandrachud orally observed that “32,000 is a distortion of fact”, and asked senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the film producer, “What are you doing about that?” He also remarked, “We do protect free speech, but vilifying a community…”
Mr. Salve said that there was no “authentic figure” about the number of conversions made. “I will clarify in the disclaimer that there is no authentic data available,” he suggested to the court.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, for Tamil Nadu, reacted to the suggestion, saying, “that would be much, much worse”. He further submitted, “We are all for freedom of speech, but this is hate dramatised. Millions of people watch the film… Even an art form is subject to restrictions on free speech under Article 19(2) of the Constitution.”
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‘Fictionalised account’
During the hearing, Chief Justice Chandrachud orally observed that “32,000 is a distortion of fact”, and asked senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the producer of The Kerala Story, “What are you doing about that?” He also remarked, “We do protect free speech, but vilifying a community…”
Mr. Salve said that there was no “authentic figure” about the number of conversions made. “I will clarify in the disclaimer that there is no authentic data available,” he suggested to the court.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, for Tamil Nadu, reacted to the suggestion, saying, “that would be much, much worse”. He further submitted, “We are all for freedom of speech, but this is hate dramatised. Millions of people watch the film… Even an art form is subject to restrictions on free speech under Article 19(2) of the Constitution.”
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‘Ban disproportional’
“You are saying that the ban of the film is on the basis of 13 people... You get any 13 people, they will say ban any movie unless you are showing them cartoons,” Chief Justice Chandrachud addressed the West Bengal government. The court said that the powers of the State under Section 6(1) of the West Bengal Cinema (Regulation) Act could not be used to put a premium on public intolerance.
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The court said that the ban must be proportional to the threat perception. Rather than a State-wide ban, the screening of the film could be controlled in areas where there was a likelihood of disturbance, it said. “Exercise of fundamental rights cannot be dependent on public emotion. Public display of emotion has to be controlled,” the court observed.
The petitioners urged the judges to watch the movie during the vacation and intervene if they felt there was a need for further judicial intervention. The court listed the case on July 18.