Kerala Story 2 gets HC go-ahead, release set amid controversy

The division bench of the Kerala High Court on Friday afternoon lifted the stay imposed by a single-judge bench on the release of the film ‘Kerala story 2: Goes beyond’. The ruling paves the way for the release of the controversial film which is a sequel to the 2023 film ‘Kerala story’, and is directed by Kamakhya Narayan Singh and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah. The film was slated for release on February 27. The division bench of Justices SA Dharmadhikari and PV Balakrishnan stayed the interim order pronounced by the bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas on the release of the film on Thursday, relying on earlier Supreme Court rulings in cases where certification by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is treated as presumption of an expert body considering the impact of a film on society. “The afore decisions thus clearly stand to advice that once a certificate has been issued, there is, prima facie, a presumption that the authority concerned has taken into account all the guidelines, including public order, and that if due to the release of the movie, any issue arises, it is the duty of the state to maintain it,” the division bench said in its order. “This presumption thus includes that, the film has been judged in its entirety from the point of view of its overall impact, by taking into consideration the principles enunciated in section 5B of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 and the relevant guidelines,” it added. The division bench pointed out that on the basis of a few clippings and without watching the film, the finding of the single judge bench that the guidelines for certification have not been borne in mind by CBFC cannot be countenanced. It stated that the insertions and modifications carried out by the film producers on the directions of CBFC ‘reinforces the fact that there is an application of mind on the part of CBFC while granting the certificate.’ A batch of three petitions had been fi

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