The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that the Karnataka high court should not have insisted on an apology from actor Kamal Haasan over his remarks about the Kannada language. The apex court also transferred all proceedings related to Haasan’s film Thug Life to itself.The Supreme Court directed the state government to file its response by Wednesday. The court noted that it had already issued notice in the previous hearing due to the urgency of the matter.A bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Manmohan asserted that the rule of law must prevail, and that any film approved by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has the right to be released. “Mobs and vigilantes shall not be allowed to take to the streets and create ruckus over the issue,” the court said.The case, which was pending before the Karnataka high court, has now been transferred to the Supreme Court for all future hearings.Last week, the Karnataka high court had questioned Haasan’s refusal to apologise for his comments on the origins of the Kannada language, asking, “Why is the apology still not made?” The court also referred to late statesman C Rajagopalachari, who had once publicly apologised to Kannadigas.With Tuesday’s order, the Supreme Court has taken full control of the matter, effectively shielding the film and its makers from regional court interventions for now.