The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is in the thick of a controversy with the government dropping two films – Malayalam movie S Durga and Ravi Jadhav’s Marathi film Nude – from the event. Matters escalated when jury chairperson Sujoy Ghosh stepped down and director Sanal Sasidharan, of S Durga, moved the Kerala High Court on Tuesday, challenging the exclusion of his film.

Another jury member, Apurva Asrani, also resigned, saying “my conscience won’t allow me to participate in the festivities in Goa”, a report in The Indian Express said.

Calling the move of the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry “arbitrary, illegal and unjust”, Sasidharan has reportedly urged the court to direct the festival organisers and ministry to screen his film at the festival.

S Durga narrates the tale of a couple walking on a deserted road where the woman is harassed by men, while Nude is the story of a poor woman who works as a nude model for art students. The films were selected by the jury constituted according to Indian Panorama regulations.

The government has drawn flak for its “interference” from several quarters, with filmmakers from the Marathi industry voicing concern, and former I&B minister and Congressman Manish Tewari tweeting: “Preposterous — That I&B Ministry got two films dropped from IFFI 2017. Interference with jury decisions a new low. When Ministry tasked with defending freedom of speech and expression becomes it’s slayer, it is time for the creative community to revolt against this crude censorship.”

Strangely, while the I&B ministry hasn’t yet stated why it dropped the films, IFFI steering committee member Vani Tripathi Tikoo, quoted by Economic Times, defended the decision to exclude the movies, saying it was made to protect the “sensitivities and physical safety of viewers”. The fest opens on November 20.