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Supreme Court to hear plea on threats of violence linked to the screening of Thug Life in Karnataka on June 13
The Supreme Court on Monday (June 9, 2025) agreed to hear on June 13 a plea to ensure the safe and unimpeded screening of Kamal Haasan's Tamil movie 'Thug Life' in Karnataka, and direct the State government to take action against elements who have issued threats and incited violence against theatres and the makers of the film.
A Vacation Bench headed by Justice P.K. Mishra scheduled the case for hearing this week on the basis of an oral mentioning made by the advocates for the petitioner, M. Mahesh Reddy, a Bengaluru resident, represented by advocates A. Velan and Navpreet Kaur.
Ms. Kaur, seeking urgent listing of the writ petition, said 'fringe elements' were threatening arson against the theatres that screen the film.
Mr. Velan said the move to appeal to the apex court had been necessitated by the fact that the Karnataka High Court had 'distressingly appeared to prioritise appeasement'.
'Instead of a clear directive to the State to stop the illegal threats and protect a certified film's exhibition, fundamental to restoring law and order, the discussion reportedly focused on whether Mr. Kamal Haasan should apologise to the very fringe elements intimidating him and threatening public order. This effective endorsement of coercive censorship by suggesting compromise with perpetrators makes the High Court pathway currently ineffective for securing justice, compelling this urgent appeal in the Supreme Court as the ultimate guardian of the Constitution,' the petition submitted.
The petition questioned the Karnataka government's 'flagrant failure' to maintain law and order in the State, and protect constitutional freedoms.
It said the 'unconstitutional extra-judicial ban' in Karnataka stems not from any lawful process but from a deliberate campaign of terror, including explicit threats of arson against cinema halls, incitement to large-scale communal violence targeting linguistic minorities, and a chilling call for a repeat of past anti-Tamil riots.
'This serious situation occurs within a disturbing societal context where chauvinistic elements have targeted linguistic minorities such as Hindi speakers in Bengaluru with impunity, fostering a climate of fear that now directly threatens constitutional order over this film… Even as Victory Cinema, a movie theatre in Bengaluru, announced its intent to screen 'Thug Life', forces of intimidation struck openly. Mr. T.A. Narayana Gowda of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) publicly threatened to 'set theatres on fire' while social media was used for inciting a violent revival of the 1991 anti-Tamil riots,' the petition highlighted.
