The Kerala High Court has issued a significant ruling regarding the stay on the release of the film “The Kerala Story 2.” The court has stayed for two weeks the interim order issued by a single judge, which had postponed the film’s release for 15 days. A division bench of Justices Sushrutha Arvind Dharmadhikari and P.V. Balakrishnan delivered this order on Friday in Kochi on an appeal filed by the film’s producer, Vipul Amrutlal Shah. The appeal was filed late Thursday night, just hours after the film’s release was banned. The division bench had reserved its decision after completing the hearing on Thursday night. A detailed order is still pending. The producers argued in court that the film was not intended to defame the state of Kerala or any religious community. Their lawyers stated that the film merely depicts a social evil. They also argued that the producers would suffer huge financial losses if the stay on release continued. The film was scheduled to release on February 27 in 1,500 theaters in India and over 300 theaters abroad. Earlier, a single judge had stayed the film’s release, stating that prima facie the Censor Board had not adequately considered the legal requirements. The judge also expressed concern that the film’s content could disrupt communal harmony or tarnish the image of a community. The court also stated in its order that the content of the film’s teaser prima facie appeared to have the potential to distort public perception and affect communal harmony. Now, following the latest order from the division bench, the situation regarding the film’s release has temporarily changed. The legal position will become clear only after the detailed order is issued.
