The Madras High Court has stayed the certification of Jana Nayagan starring Vijay after hearing an appeal filed by the Central Board of Film Certification. The court will now hear the matter on January 21.
The Madras High Court, on January 9, has stayed the certification of Jana Nayagan starring Vijay after an appeal was filed by the Central Board of Film Certification. The court will now hear the matter on January 21.
This means that the film’s release is not possible until January 21, unless Jana Nayagan’s makers, KVN Productions, approach the Supreme Court and obtain relief.
As per a Live Law report, a division bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan noted: “Respondent Union of India was not given sufficient time..one main grievance of UoI was that they were not given time to reply. Another grievance is that letter dated January 6 was not challenged, but court (single judge) quashed it. Respondents argue that there was no urgency… All said and done there was no certificate granted to respondents”.
The Chief Justice questioned the urgency in filing the appeal on the same day, noting that the appeal was mentioned minutes after the single judge’s decision. Responding, Additional Solicitor General ARL Sundaresan said the proceedings before the single judge were hasty and the CBFC was not given time to file a counter. Explaining the timeline, he said, “Petition filed on 5th (January). 6th it came up before the court. We were asked to produce the letter (intimating review of certification). We produced it on 7th. We produced the complaint from Bombay and produced it on 7th in an envelope. Matter was heard on 7th afternoon and orders passed today.”
Appearing for the CBFC, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued, “Moulding the relief would not include setting aside an order that’s not challenged. Moulding would only be granting something in connection with what has been sought.”
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the producers KVN Productions, submitted that the complaint was filed by a member of the CBFC committee itself. However, the court orally remarked that the producers had created a false sense of urgency by fixing a release date without a certificate, stating, “You’re creating an urgency and putting pressure on court… You can’t fix a date (for release) and put pressure on the system.”
For context, single judge Justice P T Asha had earlier on Friday allowed the producers’ plea and directed the CBFC to grant a U/A certificate, holding that the complaint was an afterthought and motivated. The court had also ruled that the chairperson’s decision to send the film for review after communicating approval for U/A certification was without jurisdiction.
The film’s release, scheduled for January 9, has been postponed. The CBFC’s appeal will be heard next on January 21.
