High Court Dismisses CBFC and Catholic Congress Appeals Against Malayalam Film Hal

Kochi: The Kerala High Court has dismissed the appeals filed by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and the Catholic Congress against the Malayalam film Hal. The CBFC had earlier insisted that the film could be released only after six cuts were made, including dialogues critical of RSS politics. However, a single bench of the High Court had set aside four of those cuts. The division bench’s latest order deals with the appeals challenging that ruling.

A bench comprising Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice P. V. Balakrishnan dismissed the CBFC’s appeal as well as the one filed by the Catholic Congress, an organisation under the Thamarassery Diocese. The Catholic Congress had approached the court claiming the film disturbed communal harmony and should not be granted screening approval. It also argued that the film portrayed the Thamarassery Bishop as a supporter of “love jihad,” which, according to them, amounted to defamation of the Bishop and the Diocese.

Before delivering its judgment, the division bench watched the film in full. The verdict was delivered after the screening, with the judges noting that they had “enjoyed the film.”