CBFC files caveat in Supreme Court in Jana Nayagan case

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has filed a caveat in the Supreme Court seeking that no order should be passed without hearing it in connection with the release of actor Vijay-starrer Jana Nayagan.

A caveat is filed by a litigant in the high courts and the Supreme Court to ensure that no adverse order is passed against it without it being heard.

Editorial | Cuts and ratings: On the CBFC, Parasakthi and Jana Nayagan

On January 27, 2026, the Madras High Court had allowed a writ appeal filed by the CBFC and set aside a single judge’s January 9, 2026 order, which had directed the CBFC to issue U/A 16+ certification for Mr. Vijay’s much-awaited final movie Jana Nayagan.

The 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 had also held that the writ petition was not maintainable at all, as it sought a mandamus 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, referring the movie to a nine-member revising committee.