Kerala HC refuses to stay S Durga screening at IFFI

KOCHI: Way is cleared for the screening of the controversial ilm S Durga at the 48th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) which began on 20th in Goa, as Kerala High Court on Friday refused to stay the earlier Single Bench order asking the central government, which banned the ilm from IFFI, to screen the movie.

A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Antony Dominic and Justice A Muhamed Mustaque refused to stay the single judge order while admitting an appeal iled by the Centre. The Division Bench said a jury shall view the certiied version of the ilm directed by Sanalkumar Sasidharan and take a decision on its screening at the ilm festival.

Counsel for the Union government argued that the jury of the Panorama Selection had viewed only the uncertiied version of the movie.

In the appeal, the government stated that the film though selected by the jury had not secured the exemption as required by the Panorama regulation in the absence of any certification from the Central Board of Film Certification.

The court observed that the counsel’s objection was basically regarding the name of the movie. In his reply the counsel said his opposition was to the name and use of some objectionable words used in the ilm. The festival, which began on Nov.20, will conclude on Nov.28.

The lawyer appearing for the director contended that the Centre was adopting a delaying tactic so as to stop its screening in the Goa festival. He also challenged the arguments of the Centre that the inclusion of the movie in the festival would upset the screening schedule. The lawyer pointed that there were several vacant slots in the schedule of the ilm festival.

The petitioner had contended that the movie, screened by the jury for the Panorama Section, had excluded it from the list at the instance of the Central government and argued that the act was illegal and arbitrary. Sanalkumar Sasidharan moved the court after the ilm was dropped from the Indian Panorama section of the festival along with the Marathi ilm ‘Nude’.

According to the petitioner, the I&B Ministry’s decision to overrule the recommendation of the 13-member jury and pull out the two ilms was ‘unconstitutional’.