The Kerala High Court refused to entertain a PIL seeking removal of “Kerala” from the film’s title, holding that similar issues are pending before a coordinate bench. The court reprimanded the petitioner for casting aspersions on the Division Bench that allowed the film’s release.
THE Kerala High Court on Thursday (March 5, 2026) refused to entertain a public interest litigation seeking a direction to rename the film ‘The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond’ so as to exclude the words “Kerala” or “Keralam” from its title.
The division bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V.M. held that similar issues are already pending before a coordinate bench, and entertaining the PIL would amount to diluting an order that has already been passed.
The PIL was filed by Chandramohan K.C., a retired social science teacher, along with advocate Mehnaz P. Mohammed. The petitioners had argued that the film’s title portrays Kerala as the “epicentre of terrorism and radicalisation” and brands it a “terror nursery” without authentic data. They also contended that the Muslim community was depicted as “evil” in the film. The petitioners sought directions to the CBFC to frame guidelines ensuring film titles do not denigrate any state, region, caste or religious community.
The court, however, took strong objection to a paragraph in the petition which alleged that the producer had mentioned the matter before the Division Bench in an “unprecedented manner” before the single judge’s detailed order was even uploaded.
Chief Justice Sen orally remarked that this amounted to casting aspersions on a coordinate bench and warned that he could issue contempt for such “reckless statements” made without knowing the circumstances. The court noted that if the petitioners were aggrieved by the coordinate bench’ order, they ought to have sought recall or approached the Supreme Court, not filed a fresh PIL before another division bench.
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The petitioners’ counsel unconditionally apologised for the averment. The court then directed that the PIL be withdrawn and granted liberty to file a fresh petition without the offending paragraph. The matter may be tagged with the pending appeal and writ petition before the appellate bench.
Background: The film ‘The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond’ was scheduled for release on February 27, 2026. On February 26, Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas stayed its release for 15 days, observing that the teaser had the potential to disturb communal harmony and that the CBFC had not applied its mind to statutory guidelines. The producer, Vipul Amrutlal Shah, immediately filed an appeal, and a division bench of Justices S.A. Dharmadhikari and P.V. Balakrishnan convened an urgent hearing at 7:30 p.m. the same day. On 27th February, the division bench lifted the stay, holding that once the CBFC has certified a film after viewing it in full, its decision carries a presumption of regularity. The film was released that evening.
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