The Madras High Court reserved its judgement on the appeal filed by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) after a single judge passed an order directing the CBFC to issue certification to the Vijay-starrer Jana Nayagan, on January 9. The CBFC filed an appeal on the same day before a division bench, which stayed the order passed by the single judge.
Assisstant Solicitor General ARL Sundaresan argued before Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan, that the producers did not challenge the decision of the CBFC on the communication to send the film to the revising committee and that the CBFC was not granted time to file a counter affidavit.
The decision of sendiing the film to a revising committee comes after a member of the advisory committee, who watched the film initially and submitted suggestions, raised a complaint, which highlighted that the film misrepresented certain religious sentiments and did not consult with the armed forces before adding their logos to the film.
The CBFC argued that the decision of the advisory committee is not final, and that the committee aids the boards in making decisions. While the court noted that it is not possible that the board can watch every film, the advisory committee assists the board with its findings.
Meanwhile advocate Sathish argued that a single member from the committee filing complaints is not possible under the Cinematograph Certification Rules.
The date for a judgement hearing is yet to be scheduled.
