LI Network
Published on: 13 May 2023 at 00:16 IST
The Supreme Court of India heard a petition challenging the ban on the screening of the film ‘The Kerala Story’ in West Bengal. During the hearing, the bench consisting of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha asked the Mamata Banerjee-led government why the movie couldn’t be screened peacefully in the state when it had been running without issues in the rest of the country.
The court expressed its confusion regarding the reason for the ban since the film had been screened in other parts of the country without any problems.
Senior advocate Harish Salve, representing the producers of the movie ‘The Kerala Story’, informed the court that there is a de facto ban in Tamil Nadu as the theatres screening the movie are being threatened and they have cancelled the screenings.
For West Bengal, he sought the quashing of the ban order. In response, the Chief Justice of India questioned the Tamil Nadu government about the specific administrative arrangements made by them to prevent attacks on theatres and violence.
The court issued notices to both the states and asked them to file their responses by Wednesday. The bench further stated that the matter will be taken up on Thursday.
It is worth noting that Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee had ordered a ban on the film on Monday, citing a threat to law and order in the state.