The Kerala High Court has ruled that the fact that a story is inspired by the life of a convicted criminal does not necessarily mean that it accurately portrays their entire life story, nor does its publication infringe upon their right to privacy.
The ruling by a bench of Chief Justice S Manikumar and Justice Murali Purushothaman came while dismissing a PIL seeking to stop the release of Malayalam film 'Kurup' starring Dulquer Salmaan on the ground that it would affect the right to privacy of Sukumara Kurup, an accused in a murder case and absconding since 1984.The PIL was moved by a lawyer, three days before the release of the film in 2021, claiming that the release of the movie would affect the right to privacy of Kurup, a proclaimed offender.
The petitioner had also sought directions to the Centre and the state government to protect privacy rights of proclaimed offenders like Kurup.Declining to grant either relief, the bench said, "Public records and judgments in public domain can be accessed by any person."This court is in agreement with the submission of the 5th respondent (one of the film producers) that only because the story gets inspiration from the life story of a proclaimed offender does not mean that the story is completely the life story of that person and the publication of that story would affect the privacy right of that particular person