The Supreme Court of India, on Thursday, January 15, dismissed a plea by KVN Productions, the makers of Vijay-starrer Jana Nayagan, seeking certification for the movie from the Central Board for Film Certification.
The dismissal came from the bench of justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih. The court noted that the matter was already under appeal before the division bench of the Madras High Court. The division bench is set to hear the plea on January 20.
The case had reached the division bench after an appeal against the single judge order of the Madras High Court, which had cleared the film for release in a hearing held on January 9.
Commenting on the delay in the single bench order, Justice Datta said, “We would welcome all the judges to dispose of the matters within a day or two of their filing. But this should happen in all cases. This is a blistering pace … the matter was filed on January 6 … when the matter is fixed before the division bench, the CBFC has a right of appeal.”
The Supreme Court said that the High Court division bench should try to give a judgement on January 20 itself, the date for the next hearing.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the producer, said that it was industrial practice to announce the date of release of movies before clearance by the censor board and that 5,000 theaters had already been booked for the film screening.
Jana Nayagan, charted to be TVK chief Vijay’s swansong, was initially given U/A certification by the regional Chennai office of the board, subject to edits. It, however, hit a roadblock when the CBFC chairperson referred the film to the revising committee on January 6.
This decision came at the behest of a complaint filed by a member of the examining committee that had initially certified the film. The complaint was on the basis of alleged hurt caused to religious sentiments and the portrayal of armed forces.
On January 9, the single bench of Justice PT Asha had initially cleared the film for release on the same day, which was the date that had been announced for the film’s release. This decision was, however, set aside by a two-judge bench the very same day.
Jana Nayagan had been charted for Pongal release on January 9 but had been postponed indefinitely on January 8, following troubles with the CBFC certification.