The Kerala High Court on Friday gave a stay on the release of ‘The Kerala Story 2’. A bench of Justices SA Dharmadhikari and PV Balakrishnan set aside an interim order earlier passed by Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas that stayed the film’s release for 15 days.
The film can now hit theaters as scheduled. The release is scheduled for today, Friday, February 27th.
On Thursday, February 26, Justice Kurian granted an interim stay on the release of ‘The Kerala Story 2-Goes Beyond’ saying prima facie there was non-application of mind on the part of the censor board in certifying the film, PTI reported.
The Division Bench held an urgent special session at 7.30 pm on the same day to hear the appeal filed by the film’s producers. After a detailed hearing – which lasted for over 2 hours – the Bench reserved its verdict on the matter and issued its decision around 4:00 PM IST, referring to the Bar and Bench report
‘The Kerala Story 2’ Controversy
Justice Kurian granted the interim stay while hearing two petitions challenging the film’s release, arguing that it misrepresents Kerala and may incite communal tension.
What the petitions claimed
One of the petitions was filed by Kannur resident Sreedev Namboodiri, who alleged that the title and promotional material of the sequel – including its teaser and trailer – contained themes and dialogues that could incite violence and unfairly portray Kerala in a negative light.
He also objected to the final line of the trailer, “ab sahenge nahin… ladenge” (we will not tolerate it anymore, we will fight), arguing that it could be seen as a call for confrontation and potentially spark social unrest.
Another petition filed by Freddie V Francis – sought a ban on the film and challenged the use of the word “Kerala” in its title. He argued that it wrongly links the state to terrorism and forced religious conversions, even though the film’s story includes characters from other states.
He described the film as “hate marketing” and also questioned the makers’ claim that it is based on true events, Bar and Bench said citing the petitions.
