The Madras High Court on Tuesday overturned a single-judge bench’s order directing the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to immediately grant a censor certificate to actor Vijay’s much-anticipated film Jana Nayagan, throwing the film’s release into fresh uncertainty.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice M.M. Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan held that the single judge, Justice P.T. Asha, ought to have granted the CBFC time to file its counter affidavit before issuing directions. The bench’s ruling comes as a blow to the film’s producers, who had aimed for a Pongal release earlier this month. Notably, Jana Nayagan is speculated to be Vijay’s final film before entering active politics.
The bench clarified that the producer, M/s KVN Productions LLP, is at liberty to approach the single judge for an expedited hearing of the case. It further observed that the single judge is empowered to decide whether the CBFC’s decision to refer the film to the revising committee was justified.
The dispute arose after the CBFC initially conveyed on December 22, 2025, that a five-member examining committee had recommended the issuance of a censor certificate for the film. However, a subsequent complaint by one of the committee members led the CBFC Chairperson to halt the process and refer the film to a revising committee. This decision was communicated to the producer on January 5.
Challenging this move, KVN Productions filed a writ petition before Justice Asha, who on January 9 quashed the CBFC’s January 5 communication and directed the Board to issue a censor certificate forthwith. However, the First Bench stayed that directive the same day, and eventually reserved orders in the CBFC’s appeal on January 20.
With the division bench’s order setting aside Justice Asha’s earlier direction, the matter is now back before the single judge for fresh adjudication. The judge will decide whether the CBFC was right in escalating the matter to a revising committee, based on a complaint after the initial approval recommendation.
