The Supreme Court on May 3 refused to entertain a petition by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind to direct the makers of the movie ‘The Kerala Story’ to carry a disclaimer that it is a work of fiction.
Responding to an urgent mention to list the case early, Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud asked the Jamiat and other petitioners to instead move the jurisdictional High Court, possibly under Article 226 (writ petition) of the Constitution.
Also read: Supreme Court refuses to entertain plea seeking stay on release of movie ‘The Kerala Story’
“There are seasoned judges in High Courts… Why don’t you go there? Why should we become a super 226 court?” Chief Justice Chandrachud asked advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for the Jamiat.
The Bench gave petitioners the liberty to move the High Court. It requested the jurisdictional High Court concerned to consider the case for early listing if a petition on the issue is filed.
The petitioners sought a copy of the apex court order to be made available so that they could approach the High Court by afternoon. The film is scheduled to be released on May 5.
Also Read | Movie ‘The Kerala Story’ an attempt to destroy state’s communal harmony: Ruling CPI(M), opposition Congress
Senior advocate Harish Salve, for the movie makers, submitted they were not ready to carry such a disclaimer. Presently, the movie claims it is “inspired by true events”.
During the brief minutes of the mentioning, the CJI noted this was a film and the petitioners were seeking to “excise” portions of it.
Ms. Grover said their request for a disclaimer was balanced. She noted that the movie tended to “demonise” the entire Muslim community.
Also Read | Protest strengthens against The Kerala Story
The Jamiat petition said the movie peddled “malicious propaganda” that 32000 girls in Kerala were lured through ‘love jihad’ and trafficked to West Asia to join ISIS.
“The movie is clearly aimed at spreading hatred and enmity between different sections of society in India. The message the movie imparts is that non-Muslim young women are being lured into converting to Islam by their classmates and subsequently, trafficked to West Asia where they are forced to join terrorist organisations. The movie gives the impression that apart from extremist clerics who radicalise people, ordinary Muslim youngsters, their classmates, also play an instrumental role in luring non-Muslims and radicalising them by posing as friendly and good-natured, in accordance with instructions given by extremist scholars,” the petition said.
