The makers of the Tamil Thalapathy Vijay's Jana Nayagan had approached the court after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) refused to issue a censor certificate. The Madras High Court heard the case on January 20 and reserved its judgment, which was delivered today. Here's what the court said:
The Madras High Court has quashed the single bench's order. Following this, the suspense surrounding the film's release date continues. The court overturned the single bench's order that had directed the CBFC to issue a censor certificate for Jana Nayagan.
CBFC's petition accepted
Jana Nayagan is being touted as actor Vijay's last film, as he has now become active in politics. The film was scheduled for release on January 9, 2026, but it was postponed after the CBFC refused to clear it. Now, on Tuesday, a division bench of the Madras High Court accepted the CBFC's appeal challenging a single-judge's direction to grant immediate censor clearance to the Vijay-starrer film Jana Nayagan.
Further delay in the film's release is likely!
The bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Srivastava and Justice Arul Murugan stated that the single-judge had erred in considering the merits of the complaint regarding the film's content. Therefore, the division bench remanded the matter back to the single-judge for reconsideration. The division bench's order stated, 'The single-judge should not have gone into the merits of the case. The writ court's decision is set aside, the appeal is allowed, and the impugned order is quashed. The petitioner is given an opportunity to amend the petition.'
The High Court's order makes it clear that the film's release may be further delayed.
See some X reactions here
While X users seemed disappointed with the verdict, they showed support to Thalapathy Vijay.
Why did the producers approach the court?
The film's producer, KVN Productions, had filed a petition in the High Court alleging that the CBFC was delaying the issuance of the final censor certificate despite the production house complying with the cuts suggested by the examining committee. The controversy surrounding the film's release reportedly began when the film was referred to a reviewing committee based on complaints of misrepresentation of the armed forces and hurting religious sentiments.
It later emerged that the complaint was filed by a member of the examining committee itself. When the film did not receive clearance from the censor board, the producers approached the High Court. A single-judge had granted relief in the matter, but the division bench had already stayed that order.
Today, the division bench set aside the single-judge's order. It remains to be seen when the path for the film's release will be cleared.
