Kochi: Hours after a single judge halted the release of The Kerala Story 2-Goes Beyond for 15 days, a division bench of the Kerala High Court on Thursday heard an appeal and reserved its verdict. The film, set for a wide release in India and abroad on February 27, has sparked legal battles over its portrayal of the state.

Bench questions single judge’s handling of pleas

A bench comprising Justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and P V Balakrishnan conducted a late evening hearing of nearly two hours. The judges noted that the pleas opposing the film’s certification resembled public interest litigation (PIL) and questioned whether a single judge should have entertained them.

No interim order was issued by the division bench at the conclusion of the hearing, despite the producer seeking a stay. Senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, representing producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah, argued that the film “does not harm or denigrate the state of Kerala or any religious community.”

Kaul stressed that even the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had found nothing objectionable. “The film only portrays a social evil,” he said. He added that the single judge could not keep the matter open after directing the Centre to consider a revision petition, citing Supreme Court rulings.

Kaul also warned that blocking the film could “financially finish” the producers, as it is scheduled for screening in 1,500 theatres in India and over 300 abroad. He maintained that the PIL-style pleas should not override the CBFC’s expert assessment, and the producer’s creative rights under freedom of expression must be respected.

Petitioners defend interim stay

The petitioners argued that their reputation would be harmed if Kerala was shown negatively. They contended that the trailer and teaser depicted the state in a bad light and that delaying the release caused no irreparable loss to the producer. “But if the film is released, then we will have no remedy,” their lawyers said.

The single judge had stayed the release, citing prima facie concerns about CBFC’s “non-application of mind” and potential for communal disharmony. Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas noted that the teaser could “distort public perception and disturb communal harmony,” making unsupervised release legally improper.