The Madras High Court has pronounced its verdict on Vijay's Jana Nayagan.
The court ruled in favour of Jana Nayagan, by directing the CBFC to issue a U/A certificate to Vijay starrer.
KVN Productions, the film's makers, filed an urgent plea over the non-issuance of the censor certificate, which led to the film's postponement.
Jana Nayagan is Thalapathy Vijay's final project before his full-time plunge into politics. It is one of the highly anticipated films of the year, but was postponed just two days ahead of its scheduled release date due to delays in receiving the censor certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
KVN Productions, the film's makers, filed an urgent petition in the Madras High Court on January 6, over the non-issuance of the certificate, which led to the film's postponement. The Madras High Court on Friday has pronounced its verdict on the row.
Madras High Court orders CBFC to grant certificate to Jana Nayagan
The Madras High Court ruled in favour of Jana Nayagan by directing the CBFC to issue a U/A certificate to the Vijay starrer immediately.
According to Live Law, Justice PT Asha, in the order, said, "After examining materials, it is crystal clear that the complainant's grievance appears to be an afterthought."
The judge also said that entertaining such complaints is a "dangerous trend."
The judge further said that the CBFC chairperson’s letter uploaded on January 6 was "without jurisdiction".
"Exercise of power by chairperson is without jurisdiction since the power of chairperson to send for review stood abdicated after he, on behalf of committee informed that UA certificate would be granted subject to incisions," the court said.
Despite the censor row, the advance ticket bookings for Jana Nayagan had opened in select theatres across India and overseas. The last-minute postponement has reportedly caused a huge loss for the makers.
Celebs support Vijay's film
Several members of the Tamil film industry have expressed solidarity on social media. Actors Silambarasan, Ravi Mohan and Sibi Sathyaraj, directors Venkat Prabhu, Karthik Subbaraj, Ajay R Gnanamuthu and Rathna Kumar, among others, have offered public support to Vijay and Jana Nayagan team.
Why was Vijay's Jana Nayagan postponed?
Directed by H Vinoth, Jana Nayagan was supposed to hit the screens on January 9, 2026. On January 7, KVN Productions released a statement, confirming the delay, citing "unavoidable circumstances".
The makers submitted Jana Nayagan to CBFC on December 18. After the initial screening, the examining committee reportedly raised objections to certain scenes and asked for several cuts. The producers agreed and told the court that around 27 cuts were made to the film following the recommendations.
On December 22, they submitted the revised version of the film. According to the makers, CBFC's regional office stated that the examining committee had recommended granting the film a U/A 16+ certificate. However, the censor certificate was not issued to the film.
On January 5, the board referred Jana Nayagan to the Revising Committee, and the regional office asked the makers to approach the CBFC's Mumbai office. When the court asked the board about the delay in communication, CBFC said there was "no ulterior motive" behind the referral.
Next day, KVN Productions filed a plea in the Madras High Court, seeking immediate issuance of the censor certificate.
