Kerala High Court refuses to postpone airing of 'The Kerala Story' on Doordarshan

The Kerala High Court on Friday refused to postpone the airing of the movie "The Kerala Story" on Doordarshan channel which is scheduled for today. .Justice TR Ravi declined to pass any orders today on the petition moved by poet, documentary film maker and editor of an online magazine, KG Suraj, seeking to postpone the airing of the movie until the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are over. Noting that Suraj had already submitted representations in this regard before the Election Commission of India (ECI) and to the concerned officials of Doordarshan on April 4, the Court said that the authorities ought to be been given more time to consider the representations. .'The Kerala Story' is a Hindi film about a group of women from Kerala who join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Its release in theatres in 2023 was unsuccessfully challenged before various courts at the time. The airing of the movie on Doordarshan has been controversial with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan posting a message condemning the same on X (formerly Twitter) The petition moved by Suraj alleged that The Kerala Story is chock-full of propaganda and that airing the same especially so close to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections would polarise voters. It would also be violative of election rules and the Model Code of Conduct, he argued. Suraj further alleged that airing it on a channel owned by the Central government is an attempt by the ruling party to sow seeds of doubt and hatred in the minds of voters. Suraj asserted that by using a state-owned channel to air the controversial movie is a blatant violation of election rules."At the time of General Elections 2024 in India such a hate campaign being pushed by the mainstream media that too with the political power of the political party in power as part of their political campaign for votes, biasing citizens of India, is a blatant violation of election rules,” the plea stated. Suraj sent representations to the ECI and Doordarshan officials immediately after the airing of the movie was announced on April 3 and subsequently moved the High Court as well.He sought orders from the Court not only to postpone the airing but also to declare that using state-run media to broadcast politically motivated movies during the period when the code of conduct is in place, is violative of the right to fair and free elections enshrined in Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India .The High Court refused to pass any orders today but decided to consider the matter on April 11..Suraj was represented by advocates SK Adhithyan, Shahina Noushad and Reuben Charly.