Bengaluru, June 18 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday asserted that no one can prevent the release of a film certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), questioning why Thug Life, a Tamil film starring actor Kamal Haasan, was not being screened in Karnataka.

A bench of justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Manmohan termed the so-called ban on the release of the film in cinema halls and multiplexes across Karnataka as illegal, stating it was triggered by threats of violence from "mobs and vigilante groups."

"Mobs and vigilante groups cannot be permitted to have their way and the rule of law must always prevail," the top court said.

Slamming the disruption caused by the threats of arson and communal incitement, the bench observed, "The...