Hindu imran Now, let us see how the Division Bench of the High Court would deal with the case…
My take on #JanaNayagan case
At the outset, I think the producer would have weighed the pros and cons before deciding to conduct the writ appeal before the Division Bench of #MadrasHighCourt instead of agreeing for a reference to the revising committee. The producer might have received legal advice that there’s no guarantee of the revising committee procedures getting over in a few days/weeks especially when the CBFC chairman has the power to differ with the recommendations of the first revising committee and constitute a second revising committee. So, KVN might have been advised to proceed with the legal battle and try to get the single judge’s order affirmed either by the Division Bench of the High Court or the Supreme Court as early as possible. If the Division Bench as well as the Supreme Court refuse to uphold the single judge’s order and insist on a re-hearing by another single judge, then the producer may exercise the option of withdrawing the writ petition and approaching the revising committee since the third round of litigation beginning from the single judge, Division Bench and once again to the Supreme Court may delay the release of the movie by several months.
Now, let us see how the Division Bench of the High Court would deal with the case…
1. The Chief Justice’s Bench would first decide two preliminary issues before going into the merits of the case. The two issues would be whether the single judge was right in disposing of the writ petition without giving an opportunity to the CBFC to file a counter affidavit & whether she was right in setting aside CBFC chairman’s Jan 6 decision though it was not challenged at all by the film producer.
2. If the two judges are satisfied that the requirement of granting time to file counter affidavit can be dispensed with in certain cases & that the court indeed has the power to set aside even an order that had not been challenged, then they will go into the merits of the case and pronounce their verdict as to whether the CBFC chairman was right in referring the movie to a revising committee even after the examining committee had recommended grant of U/A 16+ certificate.
3. If the Division Bench holds that the single judge’s approach was wrong on the two preliminary issues itself, then they may set aside the judge’s order and remand the matter back to another single judge for a fresh hearing. In such an eventuality, the Division Bench may not even go into the merits of the case unless they choose to discuss the merits too for academic purposes.
4. If the Division Bench upholds the single judge’s order both on the preliminary issues as well as the merits, the CBFC can go on appeal to the Supreme Court and the top court’s decision would be final.
5. If the Division Bench remands the matter to the single judge, the producer can go on appeal to the Supreme Court because a fresh hearing by the single judge and further appeals before the Division Bench and the Supreme Court may delay the release of the movie by several months as I’ve mentioned in the previous paras.
6. If the Supreme Court disagrees with the view taken by the Division Bench and upholds the single judge’s order, the CBFC will have no choice but to issue the UA 16+ certificate.
7. On the contrary, if the Supreme Court also insists on a fresh hearing by the single judge, then the producer can exercise the option of withdrawing the writ petition and agree to approach the revising committee because as I said, at the outset, a fresh hearing by the single judge followed by further appeals to the High Court & Supreme Court could delay the release by several months.
The point to be noted is that any order passed by the Division Bench could be taken on appeal to the Supreme Court by the losing side. So, there’s very little chance of the movie getting released immediately after the Division Bench’s order unless the CBFC has a sudden change of heart & chooses not to appeal so that you all could say: #WhistlePodu
