The Supreme Court on Tuesday came down heavily on the Karnataka government for issuing an “extra-judicial ban” on the screening of Tamil film Thug Life, starring veteran actor Kamal Hassan.

A bench comprising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice Manmohan expressed concerns regarding the law and order situation in the state while directing the government to file its counter-affidavit by Wednesday.

“We can’t allow mobs and vigilante groups to take over the streets. Rule of law must prevail. We can’t allow this to happen. If somebody has made a statement, counter it with a statement. Somebody has made some writing, counter it with some writing,” the court said.

The Mani Ratnam directorial was banned in Karnataka after protests by pro-Kannada groups against a statement made by actor Kamal Hassan on the language. During the audio launch of the movie in Chennai, the actor-turned politician had remarked that Kannada was “born out of Tamil.” The actor also refused to issue an apology, further irking the pro-Kannada groups and leading to the ban on the movie.

Stressing that the state government has the responsibility to ensure the screening of any film which has a CBFC certificate, the court said, “Rule of law demands that any film which has a CBFC certificate must be released and the State has to ensure its screening. It can’t be at the fear of burning down the cinemas that the film can’t be shown.”

“People may not watch the film. That is a different matter. We are not passing any order that people must watch the film. But the film must be released,” the court said.