The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on Thursday told the Bombay High Court that it will decide in two days the applications filed by the makers of a movie purportedly based on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's life, seeking certification.
A bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale initially rapped the CBFC, commonly known as the censor board, for "sitting on the application" and not passing the order within the timeline prescribed in the rules.
Pursuant to this, the board told the high court that the applications would be decided within two days and the makers would be informed about the decision.
The bench accepted the statement and disposed of the petition filed by the makers of the film.
Samrat Cinematics, in its plea filed in the HC, questioned the CBFC's "arbitrary, unreasonable, and unexplained" delay in processing the certification applications for its film - Ajey: The Untold Story of a Yogi, including its teaser, trailer and promotional song.
The plea claimed that the CBFC had also sought for a No Objection Certificate from the office of the Uttar Pradesh CM.
Senior counsel Ravi Kadam and advocates Satatya Anand and Nikhil Aradhe told the court that, as per the rules, the application seeking certification has to be decided within five days.
"The petitioner has in fact sought priority clearance and has paid three times the amount," Kadam told the court.
The bench then said that the censor board has to follow the 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 movie, inspired by the book 'The Monk Who Became Chief Minister', which is purportedly based on Yogi Adityanath's life, was scheduled for a theatrical release on August 1.
As per the plea, the CBFC has till date not even scheduled a screening of the movie, teaser and promotional song.
The CBFC has grossly failed to act upon the application(s) within the statutory timelines laid down under the Cinematograph Act, 1952 and the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, the plea said.
Also Read: Makers of film on UP CM Yogi Adityanath move HC over certification 'delay'; court seeks CBFC's reply
The makers also questioned the CBFC's "erroneous, extraneous and baseless" demand for a No Objection Certificate from the Uttar Pradesh CM's office, and said there is no such requirement in law.
The petition states that the filmmakers first applied for certification of the main film on June 5, 2025.
As per Rule 37 of the Certification Rules, the CBFC is required to scrutinise applications within seven days and refer the film for screening within 15 days. Despite this, no action was taken for nearly a month.
On July 3, the petitioners reapplied under the 'priority scheme' and paid three times the standard fee as per Rule 33(2), following advice from CBFC officials.
A screening was scheduled for July 7, but was abruptly cancelled the day before, without any further communication.
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