Kerala
State
Film
Award
2023
Controversy:
In
a
recent
legal
development,
the
High
Court
rejected
a
plea
aimed
at
annuling
the
State
Film
Award
announcement.
The
court's
decision
was
based
on
the
lack
of
evidence
supporting
claims
that
Director
Ranjith,
who
also
holds
the
position
of
Chairman
at
the
Kerala
State
Chalachitra
Academy,
had
interfered
with
the
award
selection
process.
Justice
Basant
Balaji
instructed
the
government
to
provide
an
explanation
on
the
issue
today.
Additionally,
the
petitioner
had
lodged
an
application
to
include
the
secretary
of
the
culture
department,
per
court
order,
as
a
party
in
the
case.
In
addition
to
this,
the
petitioner
had
requested
the
inclusion
of
director
Vinayan,
jury
member
Jency
Gregory,
and
Nemom
Pushparaj
as
parties
in
the
case.
These
individuals
had
responded
to
the
controversy
and
presented
evidence.
Nepotism
Allegations
and
Minister's
Response
Amid
Film
Award
Controversy
The
heart
of
the
petition's
allegations
lies
in
the
claim
that
nepotism
influences
award
determinations.
The
petitioner
asserted
that
there
was
substantial
evidence
of
Chairman
Ranjith's
interference
in
the
award
announcement
process,
advocating
for
his
removal
from
the
Kerala
State
Chalachitra
Academy's
chairman
position.
The
crux
of
the
petitioner's
argument
rested
on
the
assertion
that
Ranjith,
in
his
capacity
as
the
Chairman
of
the
Kerala
State
Chalachitra
Academy,
had
unduly
influenced
jury
members
and
thwarted
deserving
recipients
from
receiving
the
award.
The
petition
further
cited
the
audio
conversation
involving
Nemom
Pushparaj,
released
by
film
director
Vinayan,
as
evidence
of
Ranjith's
nepotistic
behaviour.
Director
Vinayan
claimed
to
possess
evidence
that
Ranjith
had
employed
underhanded
tactics
to
prevent
his
film
from
receiving
an
award.
Meanwhile,
Culture
Minister
Saji
Cherian
refuted
Vinayan's
complaints
against
the
film
award
decision.
Cherian
clarified
that
Ranjith,
as
the
Chairman
of
the
Kerala
State
Chalachitra
Academy,
had
not
interfered
in
the
award
decision
process,
thus
confirming
that
there
would
be
no
alteration
to
the
award
outcome.