Kerala HC issues notice to Vipul Shah over The Kerala Story 2

2 min readNew DelhiJun 18, 2026 07:08 PM IST

The Kerala Story 2 makers accused of hurting religious sentiments.

The Kerala High Court on Thursday issued an urgent notice to filmmaker Vipul Amrutlal Shah, who bankrolled The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond, in a plea challenging the film’s certification and seeking the removal of the word ‘Kerala’ from its title.

While hearing the plea, bench of Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan, questioned if the petition had become ineffective since The Kerala Story 2 had already been released and watched by many viewers. But, the high court agreed to consider the case after the petitioner mentioned that the movie’s OTT release on ZEE5 was still relevant.

The petition challenges the certification granted to The Kerala Story 2, contending that the film portrays Kerala in a negative light and has the potential to disrupt communal harmony. The plea also alleges that the producer of the film committed offences punishable under Sections 196 [Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony], 197 [Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration] and 299 [Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs] of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The petitioner has also sought to implead Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, noting that the film premiered on the OTT platform ZEE5 on May 1.

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The application was filed by Yohan George, a resident of Kochi.

A single-judge bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas had initially stayed The Kerala Story 2’s release for two weeks on Thursday, February 26, directing the CBFC to review its certification. However, the filmmakers immediately moved an appeal, and a Division Bench comprising Justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and P.V. Balakrishnan stayed the single-judge’s order on Friday, February 27, clearing the film for its theatrical release later that afternoon.