Relief Short-Lived: Madras HC Division Bench Halts Release of Vijay’s ‘Jana Nayagan.
(By Syed Ali Taher Abedi)
The Madras High Court Division Bench on Friday stayed the order of a single judge that had cleared the release of actor Vijay’s much-anticipated film Jana Nayagan, thereby putting the film’s release on hold just a day ahead of its scheduled theatrical debut on January 9, 2026.
The stay was granted by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice Arul Murugan, hours after Justice P.T. Asha, sitting singly, had allowed the plea filed by the film’s producer and directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to issue a U/A 16+ certificate to the film.
The Division Bench passed the interim stay while hearing an appeal filed by the CBFC, primarily on the ground that the Central Government had not been granted sufficient time to file its response to the writ petition before the single-judge order was passed. Taking note of this procedural aspect, the Bench stayed the operation of Justice Asha’s order until the appeal is heard and decided.
Earlier in the day, Justice Asha had held that the CBFC’s decision to refer Jana Nayagan for re-examination by a Revising Committee was flawed, arbitrary, and without jurisdiction, especially since the Examining Committee had already recommended a U/A certificate subject to certain excisions. The court noted that the Board had accepted this recommendation and that the filmmakers had complied with the suggested modifications, leaving no legal basis for a fresh review.
Following the single judge’s ruling, Additional Solicitor General A.R.L. Sundaresan, appearing for the CBFC, urgently mentioned the matter before the Chief Justice, seeking immediate intervention in view of the film’s imminent release. Shortly thereafter, the CBFC approached the Chief Justice on the administrative side, leading to the constitution of a Division Bench, which granted the stay.
As a result, the release of Jana Nayagan has now been legally stalled, and the film cannot be screened until further orders of the High Court. The matter has been adjourned for further hearing, with the interim stay continuing in the meantime.
The producers were represented before the court by Senior Advocate Satish Parasaran, along with Advocates Vijayan Subramanian and Shubhan Nair, while the CBFC was represented by the Additional Solicitor General.
The filmmakers had initially applied for certification on December 18, 2025. However, on January 5, 2026, the CBFC informed them that the film would be placed before another committee for further examination. Alleging that the certification process was being deliberately delayed without legal justification, the producers approached the High Court seeking urgent relief.
Directed by H. Vinoth, Jana Nayagan has generated significant buzz, with strong advance bookings and international clearances raising expectations of a major box-office opening. In light of the court’s interim stay, however, the producers have not announced a revised release date as of now.
