The Chief Justice of the Madras High Court became the judge hearing 'The Kerala Story 2' case, having given this verdict regarding the film.

News Topical, Digital Desk : Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari, the Kerala High Court judge who heard the Bollywood film Kerala Story 2 case, has been appointed the new Chief Justice of the Madras High Court. The current Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, Manindra Mohan Shrivastava, is set to retire on March 5. He will assume office just one day later, on March 6, 2026.

Justice Dharmadhikari was part of the division bench which heard the appeal filed against the interim order of a single bench which had stayed the release of the film 'The Kerala Story 2 - Goes Beyond'.

The bench comprising Justices Dharmadhikari and P.V. Balakrishnan reserved its verdict after a nearly two-hour hearing late Thursday evening, considering an appeal against a single bench's interim order that had imposed a 15-day stay on the release of the film "The Kerala Story 2 - Goes Beyond."

What was the matter?

After hearing arguments from the film's producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah, who had appealed against the single judge's interim order, the bench observed that the arguments opposing the certification of the film were akin to a public interest litigation (PIL) and questioned how a single judge could hear it.

However, the bench did not pass any interim order in the court after the hearing was over, as sought by the producer.

Earlier, a single judge, Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, had stayed the film's release, stating that the CBFC had ignored legal requirements. He also stated that releasing the film without scrutiny by higher authorities would be legally unjustified due to the potential for the film to incite communal hatred or insult any community.

Who is Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari?

Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari was born on July 8, 1966, in Raipur to Mr. Arvind H. Dharmadhikari and Mrs. Shubha Dharmadhikari. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Law degree from Nagpur University. He enrolled as an advocate in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Jabalpur, in 1992.

He has also represented the Income Tax Department and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He was appointed an additional judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in April 2016 and a permanent judge in March 2018. In April of last year, he was sworn in as a judge of the Kerala High Court.

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