The division bench upheld the interim order of a single bench which had stayed the release of the film for 15 days.The development comes amid a legal battle over the film’s screening in the state, with the producers challenging an earlier interim relief granted for its release. On Thursday, Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas postponed the film’s release by 15 days. The court held that the censorship board, Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), “clearly failed to comply with the requirements of the law”.The judge also said that “prima facie the film may also involve the possibility of communal disharmony or defamation of the community” and releasing the film without review by higher authorities would be legally inappropriate.Talking about the trailer, the court further noted that it had “a prima facie potential to distort public perception and disturb communal harmony”.Following a single judge’s order, the film’s producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah approached the division bench of the high court late on Thursday night.Hearing the appeal, a bench of Justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and PV Balakrishnan passed the interim stay order on Friday after reserving the verdict on Thursday evening. Detailed order is awaiting.In his appeal, Shah argued that the film did not harm or malign Kerala or any religious group and argued that “the film merely depicts social evils,” news agency PTI reported.He also told the court that stopping the release would bring “financial closure” to the producers as the film was scheduled to be released in about 1,500 theaters in India and more than 300 theaters overseas on February 27.With Friday’s decision, the previous order is now suspended for two weeks.
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