A division bench comprising Justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and P V Balakrishnan passed the interim stay order after reserving its verdict late on Thursday night. The detailed order is awaited.
The development comes a day after Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas had stayed the film’s release for 15 days. In his interim order, the judge observed that there was a prima facie “manifest non-application of mind to the requirement of law” by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) while granting certification to the movie.
The single judge further noted the “possibility of communal disharmony or denigration of a community” being prima facie involved in the film. Releasing it without scrutiny by higher authorities, the court said, would be legally improper. Referring specifically to the teaser, the court remarked that it had a “prima facie potential to distort public perception and disturb communal harmony.”
Following the interim stay, the film’s producer, Vipul Amrutlal Shah, approached the division bench late on Thursday seeking urgent relief. In his appeal, Shah contended that the film does not harm or denigrate the state of Kerala or any religious community, asserting that it merely portrays a social evil. He argued that halting the release at the last minute would “financially finish” the producers.
According to submissions made before the court, the film was scheduled to release on February 27 in approximately 1,500 theatres across India and over 300 theatres overseas.
With the division bench’s latest order, the operation of the earlier single judge’s interim stay has been kept in abeyance for two weeks, allowing the film’s release to proceed for now, pending further judicial consideration.
