Jana Nayagan censor row: Madras High Court sets aside single judge’s order in favour of actor Vijay’s movie

Madras High Court remands Jana Nayagan's certification case for fresh hearing, overturning a prior pro-Vijay ruling.

A Division Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday (January 27, 2026) allowed a writ appeal filed by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and set aside a single judge’s January 9, 2026, order which had directed the board to issue U/A 16+ certification for actor Vijay’s much-awaited final movie Jana Nayagan.

First Division Bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan held that the single judge ought not to have passed such orders without affording proper opportunity to the CBFC to file a counter affidavit to a writ petition filed by the production house KVN Productions LLP.

The Bench also held the writ petition was not maintainable at all, as it had sought a mandamus seeking a direction to the CBFC to issue the certificate instead of seeking a writ of certiorari to quash an order passed by the CBFC chairman on January 6, 2026, for referring the movie to a nine-member revising committee.

However, instead of dismissing the writ petition, the Division Bench granted an opportunity to the production firm to amend its prayer and directed the Registry to restore the writ petition and list it for fresh hearing before the single judge if the production house chooses to utilise the opportunity granted by the Bench.

“If the respondents suitably amends, the writ petition, the learned single judge may afford reasonable opportunity to the CBFC to file a counter affidavit and thereafter, the parties may pray for expeditious disposal of the writ petition on its own merits,” the Division Bench wrote.

Moreover, not wanting to go into the merits of the case, the Division Bench said: “We make it clear that it will open for the learned the single judge to decide whether the CBFC chairman’s reference was in accordance with law or not.”