The Supreme Court has come down strongly on the Karnataka High Court for suggesting that actor Kamal Haasan should apologize over his remarks made during the ‘Thug Life’ audio launch. The apex court also severely criticized the Karnataka state government for failing to file a timely response in the case. The controversy began when Kamal Haasan stated that the Kannada language evolved from Tamil, triggering protests in Karnataka. Film associations in the state even threatened to block the release of ‘Thug Life.’Judges slam state for letting threats override lawAccording to Thanthi TV, in a hearing led by Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Manmohan, the Supreme Court grilled the Karnataka government for not filing a response despite earlier directions. The bench questioned, “When will the Karnataka government respond? We cannot allow goons and vigilante groups to roam freely. The rule of law must be upheld.” The justices further ordered the state to submit its reply without delay, by the next day.Mockery of the High Court and upholding creative freedomWhen the Karnataka counsel claimed that the film’s producer had approached the High Court, the SC bluntly responded, “So what? That doesn’t excuse your inaction. No one can threaten to burn theatres.” The court reiterated that while no one is forced to watch a film, any film cleared by the Censor Board has the legal right to be released. They slammed the trend of equating one person’s opinion with fact, questioning, “What did Kamal Haasan say that was so foolish? Why the outrage?”Supreme Court takes over the caseIn a scathing conclusion, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan remarked that it was not the High Court’s place to demand an apology from Kamal Haasan, calling it inappropriate. The Supreme Court has now officially transferred the pending writ petition related to ‘Thug Life’ to itself and has scheduled the next hearing for Thursday, directing the Karnataka government to respond by then.
