A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Calcutta High Court challenging the West Bengal government’s ban on screening the film ‘The Kerala Story,’ claiming that the film raises the issue of ‘Love Jihad,’ and that in a democracy like ours, public debate on such a subject is required.
The PIL filed by Devdutta Maji and Surman Ali Mandal, states that the May 8 order of the Government of West Bengal prohibiting the film’s exhibition in the entire state is prima facie unconstitutional because it violates subsection 2 of Section 6 of the West Bengal Cinemas (Regulation) Act 1954.
The PIL further claims that once the film has been certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), the State’s refusal to show it violates the legislative restrictions and so violates the basic rights of the contesting parties, such as petitioners.
Importantly, the PIL submits that the State Government’s order, in itself, provides a note and casts aspersions on the Muslim Community of the State of West Bengal as a whole, because the film, after its release on May 5th, had been exhibited in cinemas until May 8th, and not a single incident of hatred or violence has been reported in the State, and as such the presumption exhibited in the purported Order dated 08.05.2023 is groundless, illegal and hence is liable to be set aside forthwith.
“…the film deals with the heinous acts and plots of the infamous terrorist organisation namely ISIS, and a story on the illegal operation of such a terror outfit is extremely unlikely to enrage the Muslim Community of West Bengal because there is no reason to presume that the Bengali Muslims are sympathisers of ISIS and are against the interest of the Nation,” the petition states, challenging the state government’s order issued on May 8 to avoid branch of peace in the state.
The PIL also challenges the State Government’s arbitrary decision, arguing that the ban on the film will essentially result in a huge loss in revenue collection, which in turn will affect the Government’s welfare programmes and schemes, especially given that the State coffer has been almost empty and the Government is embroiled in employee dissatisfaction over the DA issue.
In light of this, the PIL also seeks the State government’s ban order be overturned. The PIL also cites to the Kerala High Court’s May 5 ruling, in which it refused to stay the release of the film ‘The Kerala Story,’ noting that the film only claims to be “inspired by true events” and that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had certified the film for public screening.
On May 12, the Supreme Court issued notice to the states of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu on a writ case brought by the producers of the controversial film ‘The Kerala Story’ challenging the West Bengal government’s decision to ban the film.
“The film is now released in the rest of the country. West Bengal is not unlike the rest of the country. Why should the film be banned in West Bengal if it can be shown in other regions of the country? If the public does not believe the film is worthwhile, it will not be seen. It is also being run in other parts of the country with similar demographics to West Bengal. Why should you not allow a film to be shown?” said the Chief Justice of India during the case’s hearing.
