Supreme Court issues notice to Bengal, Tamil Nadu govts over 'The Kerala Story' ban

The Supreme Court on Friday pulled up the West Bengal government over its decision to ban 'The Kerala Story' in the state. The court also sought to know about the security provided to theatres screening the movie in Tamil Nadu.

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to West Bengal government on the plea of makers of the movie, ‘The Kerala Story’, challenging the decision of Mamata Banerjee's government to ban the screening of the movie in the state. The top court also gave Tamil Nadu notice on a state-wide de facto ban on the movie.

During the hearing, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud noted that the movie is running in different parts of the country with similar demographic profiles.

"Why should West Bengal ban the movie? It is running in the rest of the country including in states having similar demographic composition and nothing has happened," observed a bench comprising of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha.

The bench also asked the Tamil Nadu government to specify measures taken to provide adequate security to theatres screening 'The Kerala Story'. "We are issuing notices to both the states and they may file their response by Wednesday. We will take up the matter on Thursday," the bench added.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on May 15 a plea against the Kerala High Court order refusing to stay the release of the film

Directed by Sudipto Sen, 'The Kerala Story' depicts how women were forced to convert to Islam and recruited by the terror organisation Islamic State (IS).

The movie stirred a political storm with the Opposition parties alleging that 32,000 women joining ISIS is an exaggerated figure. While the movie faced obstacles in Opposition-ruled states, it received tax reliefs in BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.