Producers of ‘Jana Nayagan’ withdraw case against CBFC

Chennai: Madras high court on Tuesday permitted the producers of Tamil movie ‘Jana Nayagan,' starring Vijay, to withdraw their petition filed against the denial of a censor certificate for the film's theatre release.Justice P T Asha permitted the production house, KVN Productions LLP, to withdraw the plea. The producers are likely to pursue their remedy before the revision committee of the Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC).
On Jan 27, the first bench of the court, headed by Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava, set aside an order passed by the single judge directing CBFC to grant a U/A certificate to the movie. The order was passed on an appeal moved by CBFC.Citing serious allegations raised by a member of the board against the content of the film, including scenes depicting foreign powers creating disturbances in the country and against religious harmony, the bench observed that the single judge should have given an opportunity for CBFC to place its version.The bench pointed out that while the petition moved by KVN Productions only sought the issuance of a certificate for the theatre release of the movie and did not challenge the decision of the chairperson of the CBFC in referring the film to a revising committee, the single judge quashed the order passed by the chairperson.The bench then remanded the case back to the single judge (Justice P T Asha) for fresh consideration after granting adequate opportunity for the CBFC to present its response.However, the producers delayed approaching the single judge and proceeding with the case despite the orders passed by the first bench. After 13 days, the producers decided to withdraw the plea before the single judge and pursue the matter with the CBFC.‘Jana Nayagan' was earlier slated to release on Jan 9 ahead of the Pongal holidays.