NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has refused to intervene in a plea to ban the release of the controversial film 'The Kerala Story', which was scheduled to release on Friday. The petitioner's lawyer, Kapil Sibal, will raise the demand again in court today.

A bench comprising Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna, who delivered the landmark judgment in the hate speech case, refused to intervene despite the matter being raised through an interim application yesterday. The petition was filed by Adv Nizam Pasha, who had filed petition against hate speech. The Kerala Story movie has been accused of being the worst form of hate speech.

The court pointed out that this is not like going on the stage and orating without restraint. An interim application is not sufficient to challenge a film cleared by the Censor Board. Courts cannot intervene unless it is filed as a petition.

Asking why the High Court was not approached to question the release, the court said that not all cases can be initiated from the Supreme Court. Kapil Sibal informed that the interim application is due to time constraints as the film is releasing on Friday. It was also pointed out that the Supreme Court had earlier banned the telecast of the UPSC Jihad program on Sudarshan Channel. Kapil Sibal stated that he will submit a detailed petition and will ask Chief Justice DY Chandrachud for an urgent hearing.

The Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind organization has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking to ban the hate-filled film from theaters and OTT.

Petitioner's Argument

• It is clear from the teaser and trailer that it is hate speech.
• Audio-visual is part of hate propaganda.
• More than 16 million people have seen the trailer.
• Being released in Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu languages.

High Court without blocking the release

• An explanation was sought from the Centre.

KOCHI: The High Court did not allow the request to block the release of the movie 'The Kerala Story' on May 5. The division bench sought the central government's stand and adjourned the petition to May 5.

A division bench of Justice N Nagaresh and Justice CP Mohammed Nias heard a plea filed by Adv VR Anoop, a native of Thrissur, alleging that the teaser claims that 32,000 women were converted and recruited for terrorist activities, which is contrary to the facts and that such remarks will damage the dignity of the state. The petition also demanded that the film should not be screened without removing the untrue remarks.

Deputy Solicitor General S Manu explained on behalf of the Central Government that the same matter is under consideration of the Supreme Court. The bench then directed to report the proceedings of the Supreme Court and produce the censor certificate. The petitioner also demanded that the film be screened only after further scrutiny as the matter falls under the ambit of hate speech as pointed out by the Supreme Court. The director and producer argued that the petition was filed now on behalf of the teaser which was released last November. Thammanna Sultana, a native of Thrissur, has also approached the High Court with a similar demand.