The Madras High Court on Friday (January 9, 2026) directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to grant U/A certificate to actor-turned-politician Vijay’s upcoming film ‘Jana Nayakan’. The Board of Film Certification has said that it will appeal against the film directed by Vijay and has requested the court for permission for this.
The High Court issued a letter on January 6 canceling the Censor Board’s directive and sent the matter to the review committee. Allowing the plea of ​​KVN Productions, which produced the film, Justice PT Asha said that if the Board has decided to grant the certificate, then the Chairman has no power to refer the matter to the review committee. In the petition, a request was made to direct the CBFC officials to issue the censor certificate.
Soon after the verdict was delivered, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) ARL Sundaresan requested Chief Justice MM Srivastava to allow the Censor Board to file an appeal against the single judge’s order. He requested the court to take up this matter immediately.
Tamil Nadu is eagerly awaiting the release of politically sensitive films ‘Jana Nayakan’ and ‘Parasakthi’ (which depict language conflict and give a glimpse of Dravidian ideology), while it is not clear whether these films will be released in theaters before Pongal next week.
In her order, Justice Asha said that the Censor Board had decided to grant censor certificate to the film and sent a letter to the producer on December 22, 2025. After taking the decision and sending the information on behalf of the Board, the Chairman has no right to refer the matter to the Review Committee on the basis of subsequent complaint made by any member of the Committee.
The judge said that therefore the Speaker went beyond his jurisdiction and exercised his power. He said that in exercise of powers under Article 226 of the Constitution, the court has the authority to cancel the letter of January 6 and grant the relief sought. On the basis of this letter the matter was sent to the review committee.
The judge said that the argument of ASG Sundaresan that the petitioner can only challenge the letter of January 6 and cannot file a petition requesting to issue directions is not tenable.
As far as ASG Sundaresan’s request to allow the CBFC to file an appeal against the single judge’s order is concerned, the Chief Justice orally said, ‘You file the appeal and inform us, we will consider your request.’
The makers of the film had planned to release ‘Jana Nayakan’ on January 9. The film is yet to be released but after a complaint was filed against it for hurting religious sentiments, the producers moved the High Court.
After hearing the case, on January 7, the High Court had reserved its decision on the petition in which CBFC was requested to direct the much-awaited film ‘Jana Nayakan’ to give censor certificate under ‘UA 16 Plus’ category.
The petition was heard on January 6. During the hearing, Justice PT Asha had verbally asked CBFC to submit a copy of the complaint on January 7. It was claimed in the complaint that the film hurts religious sentiments. The filmmakers had said that the film was sent for review after the initial recommendation for U/A certification.
The release date of the film has been fixed for January 9 but the Censor Board had told the court that it can proceed only legally. The film ‘Jana Nayakan’ directed by H Vinod stars Vijay, Prakash Raj, Pooja Hegde, Mamita Baiju and others.
After completing all the work, the film team sent the film for censor permission on 18 December. Subsequently, the Censor Board, which reviewed the film on December 19, reportedly advised deleting some scenes and ‘muting’ some dialogues. The petitioner film production house had said that despite the changes suggested by the Censor Board members, the censor certificate has not been issued.
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