On Friday, the Kerala High Court rejected the petition lodged by Malayalam Film Director Lijeesh MJ (petitioner) challenging the Kerala State Film Awards for the year 2022, which were announced by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy on July 21. [Lijeesh MJ v State of Kerala & Ors.]
Justice PV Kunhikrishnan deemed the plea ‘frivolous’ and dismissed it, citing insufficient pleadings and a lack of evidence to substantiate the allegations of nepotism and bias put forth by the filmmaker.
Lijeesh MJ directed the Malayalam movie ‘Aakaashathinu Thazhe.’
In his plea to the High Court, he indicated that he had submitted his film for consideration for the State Film Award 2022 in the feature films category.
He contended that he did not receive any award for his film due to nepotism and bias on the part of the judging panel.
The director also pointed out similar allegations made by another filmmaker, Vijayan, who asserted that he possessed evidence against the State Awards jury members, demonstrating bias and nepotism on their part.
The petitioner argued that the Chalachitra Academy’s disregard for his film amounted to a violation of his right to equality, as guaranteed by Article 14 of the Constitution.
Consequently, he approached the High Court seeking the annulment of the 2022 awards.
He further requested the Court to instruct the State government and the Kerala State Police Chief to conduct an inquiry and take appropriate action against film director Ranjith Balakrishnan, who presently serves as the chairperson of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy.
The High Court has now dismissed this petition.
Advocates Prabhu KN, Manumon A, Rebin Vincent Gralan, and Dinesh G Warrier represented the petitioner.