On February 27, the Division Bench of the Kerala High Court, comprising Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice P V Balakrishnan, stayed a Single Judge’s interim order that had halted the release of the film The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond for 15 days. The Single Judge had relied on excerpts from the film’s teaser to conclude that the content had the prima facie potential to disturb communal harmony and that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) may not have adequately applied its mind under Section 5B of the Cinematograph Act, 1952. However, the appellate Bench emphasized a critical constitutional principle: once the CBFC, a statutory expert body, has granted certification after viewing the film in its entirety, courts must ordinarily presume due application of mind. In arriving at this conclusion, the Bench drew heavily from two landmark Supreme Court precedents. First, in Prakash Jha Productions v. Union of India, decided in 2011 in the context of the film Aaraks...
The Kerala Story 2 producer Vipul Shah says Kerala HC Division Bench’s final verdict is the “biggest proof of the truth of film” February 28, 2026 at 02:03PM
Producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah has stated that The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond does not target the state of Kerala or its people. His remarks came after the Kerala High Court Division Bench vacated the interim stay on the film’s release on Friday, February 27, clearing the path for its theatrical run. Addressing the media shortly after the court’s decision, Shah said that the legal hurdle had been removed and screenings had begun. He described the film as a “true” account made after considerable effort and rejected allegations from certain quarters that it promotes propaganda. “The Kerala High Court Division Bench has withdrawn the stay that we got yesterday. And they have cleared the way for the release of the film. Now our shows have already started opening. So I request the people that this is a true film made with a lot of hard work. And the biggest proof of the truth of our film is that the Kerala court has vacated the stay order. If our film was a lie, then the Kerala court would...