CBFC To Take Decision On Certification For Film On Yogi Adityanath In Two Working Days

On Thursday (July 17), the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) told the Bombay High Court that it will decide in two days on certifying the film, Ajey: The Untold Story of a Yogi, which is purportedly based on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's life.

As per a report in PTI, a bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale initially bashed the censor board, for "sitting on the application" and not passing the order within the prescribed timeline.

"You cannot sit on an application especially when they have paid the priority charges. The application has to be decided," the HC said.

The board told the high court that it will take the decision within two days, on the certification applications filed by the makers of Ajey.

The bench accepted the statement and disposed of the petition filed by the makers of the film.

In its plea, Samrat Cinematics India Pvt Ltd, the production banner of Ajey, questioned the CBFC's "arbitrary, unreasonable, and unexplained" delay in processing the certification applications for the film, including its teaser, trailer and promotional song.

The plea also claimed that the CBFC had also asked for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the CMO of Uttar Pradesh. The makers called the demand "erroneous, extraneous and baseless" and said there is no such requirement in law.

The makers also claimed that they first applied for certification of the main film on June 5, 2025. As per Rule 37 of the Certification Rules, the censor board is required to scrutinise applications within seven days and refer the film for screening within 15 days. But no action was taken for nearly a month.

Following advice from CBFC officials, on July 3, the petitioners reapplied under the 'priority scheme' and paid three times the standard fee as per Rule 33(2).

A screening was supposed to take place on July 7, but was cancelled the day before, without prior information.

Ajey: The Untold Story of a Yogi was scheduled for theatrical release on August 1, 2025. It is based on Shantanu Gupta’s 2017 book, The Monk Who Became Chief Minister.