Legal troubles continue to mount for Vijay's Jana Nayagan as Madras High Court's Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan passed an order setting aside the single judge's directive given by PT Asha, directing Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to issue U/A 16+ certificate to the movie. In the judgement given on Tuesday, the court passed a verdict in favour of the board following their appeal filed on January 9.
The court annulled the earlier order that had directed the grant of a censor certificate to the film without referring it to a revising committee. Observing that Jana Nayagan contains scenes portraying foreign forces triggering religious unrest in India, the bench ruled that the single judge’s order granting a U/A certificate to the film stands quashed. The court observed that the single judge should have allowed time for filing a counter-affidavit. The matter has been remanded to the single judge for a fresh hearing. The bench also stated that the producer may amend the prayer in his writ petition.
During the recent hearing on January 20, Additional Solicitor General ARL Sundaresan, appearing for the CBFC, informed the court that the examining committee’s recommendation to remove 14 portions from the film was only an “intermediary step” in the certification process. He clarified that the CBFC chairperson is yet to arrive at a final call on Jana Nayagan.
Explaining the sequence of events under the Cinematograph Act, the ASG told the Chief Justice that the producers were formally informed on January 6 that the film was being referred to a revising committee, even though earlier communication had suggested that the board had already reached a decision. He added that the CBFC did not get adequate time to file a counter affidavit when the matter was listed the very next day, January 7, before a single judge of the High Court.
Senior advocate Satish Parasaran, representing the producers of Jana Nayagan argued on Tuesday that the regional office of the CBFC unanimously recommended granting a U/A certificate to the film, and communicated the same to the producer. He added that, one member of the committee, made a different decision and raised a complaint against the movie, which is against the law.
"The producers deleted the scenes that the board objected to, but they (board) wanted us to re-introduce the scenes and submit the movie and then delete the same scenes. It is an empty exercise," the senior counsel said. "The decision to review the movie was taken based on a complaint by a member of the examining committee. Members of the examining committee could never become the complainant as per the statute," he added.
The film's release now looms in uncertainty as a third round of hearing, from the single judge to the Division Bench and potentially to the Supreme Court, could add considerable time to the process. With the state elections around the corner, the film's postponement could become a major setback for Vijay and his party. When the voting dates are announced and Model Code of Conduct (MCC) comes into force, Jana Nayagan would be held back from release until the end of the elections.
The action drama marks Vijay's final film outing before his entry to full-fledged politics. However, it has been facing censor-related woes from December 2025, which led to its postponement from January 9.
Directed by H Vinoth, Jana Nayagan, which marks Vijay's final film outing before his entry to politics, stars an ensemble cast which includes Mamitha Baiju, Bobby Deol, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Prakash Raj, Priyamani, Pooja Hegde, Narain and others. On the technical crew, it has as music composed by Anirudh, camera work by Sathyan Sooryan and editing by Pradeep E Ragav. It is co-produced by by Jagadish Palanisamy and Lohith NK.
