Setback for Vijay: HC remands back to single judge for fresh hearing of ‘Jana Nayagan’ CBFC certification case

In a major setback for film star and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president Vijay and disappointing his ardent fans, the First Bench of Madras High Court on Tuesday remanded back to the single judge for a fresh hearing of the case pertaining to film certification for the actor’s much-awaited swansong movie, ‘Jana Nayagan’.

Allowing the Writ appeal of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), the Bench comprising Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan set aside the order of a single judge directing the Board to immediately issue a U/A 16+ certification for the movie.

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The film was initially slated for release ahead of the Pongal festival, but the CBFC had sent the move for re-examination following a complaint from a member of the Examining Committee. This was after the CBFC communicated to the producers that the film would be given U/A 16+ with necessary excisions. Challenging this, the production house, KVN Productions, approached the High Court and Justice PT Asha, who, on January 9, passed the order in favour of Vijay, holding that the Chairman had no power to suo motu refer a movie for re-examination.

With the First Bench reverting the case to the single judge, the matter is back to square one. The single judge ought not to have gone into the merits and passed such orders without affording proper opportunity to the CBFC to file a counter affidavit, the Bench observed. Further, it held that the writ petition of the production firm was not maintainable at all as it had sought a Writ Mandamus, seeking a direction to the CBFC to issue the certificate instead of seeking a Writ of Certiorari to quash the CBFC chairman’s order, referring the movie to a nine-member revising committee.

However, the Bench, instead of dismissing the Writ petition, granted an opportunity to the production house to amend its prayer. “If the respondents suitably amend the writ petition, the learned single judge may afford a reasonable opportunity to the CBFC to file a counter affidavit. We make it clear that it will be open to the learned single judge to decide whether the CBFC chairman’s reference was in accordance with law or not,” the Bench said, declining to go into the merits of the case. But it pointed out that the CBFC chairman referring the movie to the revising panel was based on a complaint about the absence of a defence expert in the examining committee, which should have been weighed in by the single judge.

With assembly elections round the corner, the delay in film certification for Jana Nayagan had turned into a political slugfest between the Congress and the BJP. Jumping to the defence of Vijay, Congress leaders, right from Rahul Gandhi, have charged the Modi government with using the CBFC as a political tool to intimidate creative arts and artistes. Going a step further, Gandhi termed it an assault on Tamil culture.

Meanwhile, TVK general secretary Arun Raj has alleged that attempts are being made to arm-twist and coerce the party over the September last Karur stampede, which claimed 41 lives during Vijay’s rally, currently probed by the CBI. The TVK had identified the BJP as its ideological enemy and the DMK as the political adversary.