CHENNAI: The Madras High Court, on Tuesday, allowed an appeal filed by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), setting aside a single judge’s order that granted a U/A certificate to actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Thalapathy Vijay’s film ‘Jana Nayagan’.
A bench headed by the Chief Justice held that the single judge ought to have granted time to the CBFC to file its counter-affidavit before passing the order. Accordingly, the matter has now been remanded to the single judge for a fresh hearing, with the observation that the film’s producer is at liberty to amend the prayer in their petition.
This came a week after the Madras High Court reserved its order on the appeal. A division bench of Chief Justice Mamidra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan was hearing the matter. The developments come in the wake of the Madras HC’s single bench judgment, which directed the CBFC to issue a ‘U/A 16+’ certificate for the film, providing temporary relief to the producers.
The movie was scheduled for release on January 9, but the CBFC did not grant clearance, stating it had been referred to the Revising Committee. K Venkat Narayana, the producer, moved the Madras High Court earlier with an urgent plea seeking directions to the CBFC to grant certification. However, the CBFC moved to a division bench of the High Court, which stayed the single judge’s order on January 9.