Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind has moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Center and others not to allow the film ‘The Kerala Story’ to be screened or released in theatres, OTT platforms and other such places, from the Internet trailer.
Earlier on Tuesday, the apex court declined urgent hearing on a plea seeking a stay on the release of the controversial film directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Sunshine Pictures.
A bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagaratna said that the censor board has already cleared the film and the petitioners should challenge the certification of the film before an appropriate authority.
The bench said that there is a separate procedure for the exhibition of films, therefore the plea to stay the release of the film cannot be clubbed with hate speech cases.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate Nizam Pasha requested the bench to hear their plea saying the film would release on Friday.
The latest petition filed by Jamiat said: “The film is clearly aimed at spreading hatred and enmity between different sections of the society in India. The film conveys the message that non-Muslim girls are coaxed to convert to Islam by their classmates and later, trafficked to West Asia where they are forced to join terrorist organizations. is done.
The petition states, “The film completely degrades Muslim community and consequently the life and livelihood of the petitioners and the entire Muslim community will be at risk, and is in direct violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
“The film gives the impression that apart from extremist clerics who radicalize people, ordinary Muslim youth, their classmates also play a vital role in luring non-Muslims and radicalizing them as friendly and good-natured people, As per instructions by extremist scholars,” the plea said.
The plea, filed through advocate Ejaz Maqbool, has alternatively sought a direction to the Central Board of Film Certification to further identify the incendiary scenes and dialogues to be removed or show a disclaimer saying that it is fiction. There is no similarity between the characters in the film. to any person living or dead.
The petition states, “The film promotes the idea that love-jihad is being used to lure non-Muslim women to convert to Islam and join ISIS. However, an investigation by the state police in 2009 revealed that there was no evidence of love-jihad in Kerala.
As soon as the film’s teaser was released, the ruling CPI(M)-led Left and the opposition UDF in Kerala demanded that the film should not be screened.
The state committee of the Muslim Youth League has also announced a reward of Rs 1 crore for anyone who proves the “allegations” made in the film.
Pratheesh Vishwanath, a right-wing activist and founder of Hindu Seva Kendra, also offered Rs 10 crore to prove the opposite – that no one from Kerala has gone to Syria to join IS.
film starring Adah SharmaStarring Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani and Siddhi Idnani in the lead roles, it traces the journey of four female college students in Kerala who become a part of the Islamic State.
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