Non-screening of 'The Kerala Story': SC seeks response of Tamil Nadu, West Bengal govts
New Delhi, May 12: The Supreme Court on Friday sought replies of the West Bengal and Tamil Nadu governments on a plea of the producers of "The Kerala Story" that the movie is not being shown in theatres in these two states.
While West Bengal has banned the movie after three days of its screening in theatres, Tamil Nadu has not banned the film but the exhibitors have withdrawn from cinema halls owing to security concerns.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha questioned the West Bengal government saying the film is being screened in the rest of the country without any problem and there appears to be no reason for the ban.
"Movie is running in the rest of the country including in states having similar demographic composition and nothing has happened. This has nothing to do with the artistic value of the film. If people do not like the movie, they will not watch the movie," the bench told senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the West Bengal government.
Singhvi said according to intelligence inputs, there may be a situation of law-and- order problem and peace among different communities may be breached.
The bench also asked the Tamil Nadu government to specify measures taken to provide adequate security to theatres screening "The Kerala Story".
"The state government cannot say that it will look the other way when theatres are attacked and chairs are being burnt," the bench told advocate Amit Anand Tiwari, appearing for Tamil Nadu government, after he submitted that there is no ban on the movie.
Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for producers of the movie, said there is de facto ban in Tamil Nadu as theatres screening the movie are being threatened and they have dropped the screenings.
"For West Bengal, we are seeking quashing of the ban order," he said.
"We are issuing notices to both the states and they may file their response by Wednesday. We will take up the matter on Thursday," the bench said.
"The Kerala Story", starring Adah Sharma, was released in cinemas on May 5. Directed by Sudipto Sen, the film claims women from Kerala were forced to convert to Islam and recruited by the terror group Islamic State (IS).
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LS passes bill to open up nuclear sector for private participation
New Delhi (PTI): Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the nuclear energy bill with Union minister Jitendra Singh asserting that it would help India achieve its target of 100 GW atomic energy generation by 2047.
The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, which seeks to open the tightly-controlled civil nuclear sector for private participation, was passed by voice vote amid a walkout by the opposition.
Singh termed the bill a "milestone legislation" that will give a new direction to the country's developmental journey.
"India's role in geopolitics is increasing. If we have to be a global player, we have to follow global benchmarks and global strategies. The world is moving towards clean energy. We too have set a target of 100 GW of nuclear energy capacity by 2047," he said.
The opposition contended that the bill diluted provisions of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 that passed on the liability for a nuclear incident on to the suppliers of nuclear equipment.
