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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
SUSHRUT ARVIND DHARMADHIKARI, P.V.BALAKRISHNAN
ADDL. R5: Catholic Congress – Appellant
Versus
Juby Thomas S/o V.M. Thomas – Respondent
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. intra-court appeals against prior judgment (Para 1 , 2 , 3) |
| 2. factual background of the film's certification (Para 4 , 5) |
| 3. parties' arguments concerning film content (Para 6 , 7 , 8 , 9) |
| 4. guiding principles for film certification (Para 10 , 11) |
| 5. judging films by social impact, not hypersensitivity (Para 12) |
| 6. court's finding on artistic freedom (Para 13) |
| 7. clarification on appeal process under cinematograph act (Para 14) |
JUDGMENT :
P.V. BALAKRISHNAN, J.
1. These intra-court appeals are filed challenging the judgment dated 14.11.2025 in W.P.(C)No.37251 of 2025, allowing the writ petition filed by respondents 1 and 2 herein.
2. The W.A.No.2803 of 2025 is filed by the additional 5th respondent and W.A.No.2926 of 2025 is filed by respondent Nos. 1 to 2 in W.P.(C) No.37251 of 2025.
3. The parties are hereinafter referred to as in their status in Writ Appeal No.2926 of 2025 for convenience.
4. The facts in brief, as are necessary for the disposal of these writ appeals, are as follows:
The 1st respondent is the producer and the 2nd respondent is the Director of the movie titled “HAAL”. Respondent Nos. 1 and 2 under the banner “JVJ Productions” produced the afore movie, star
Artistic freedom of expression under the Cinematograph Act must be upheld, and censorship must consider the overall social message of a film without imposing undue restrictions.
Artistic expression in film must be balanced with state interests in censorship, ensuring compliance with statutory guidelines without undermining fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a)....
The Court held that the Revising Committee is required to assign reasons while granting 'U' certificate to a film with excisions and that no reasons were assigned by the Revising Committee in this ca....
The authority to refer a film to a Revising Committee exists only before a certification decision is made; post-approval actions are without jurisdiction.
The court emphasized that failure to challenge a decision undermines writ petition maintainability, highlighting the necessity of procedural fairness in legal proceedings.
The court's decision emphasized the limited scope of intervention under Article 226 of the Constitution of India in film certification matters and highlighted the availability of remedies under the C....
The importance of exhausting statutory remedies and the powers of the Central Government under the Cinematograph Act, 1952 to suspend the exhibition of any film.
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