The Bombay High Court on Tuesday requested a response from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) regarding a petition filed by the producers of a movie reportedly based on the life of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The petition alleges an undue delay in the issuance of certification, reported news agency PTI.
A bench comprising Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale also orally remarked that the CBFC is legally obligated to issue certificates within a prescribed timeline and therefore cannot evade this responsibility.
Samrat Cinematics, the production company, has challenged the CBFC’s “arbitrary, unreasonable, and unexplained” delay in processing certification applications for its film Ajey: The Untold Story of a Yogi, including its teaser, trailer, and promotional song, according to PTI.
The movie, inspired by the book The Monk Who Became Chief Minister and purportedly based on Yogi Adityanath’s life, was slated for theatrical release on 1st August.
The plea was heard by the High Court bench on Tuesday, where a CBFC official requested more time to engage a lawyer. The court granted the request and issued a notice to the censor board. The matter is now scheduled for further hearing on 17th July.
Counsel for the filmmakers, Ravi Kadam, along with advocates Satatya Anand and Nikhil Aradhe, stated that the CBFC has not yet even scheduled a screening for the movie, its teaser, or promotional song.
The plea asserts that the CBFC has significantly failed to act upon the application(s) within the statutory timelines stipulated under the Cinematograph Act, 1952, and the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024.
Furthermore, the filmmakers have also questioned the CBFC’s “erroneous, extraneous and baseless” demand for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Chief Minister’s Office of Uttar Pradesh, arguing that no such requirement exists in law, reported PTI.
The petition details that the filmmakers first applied for certification of the main film on 5th June 2025. As per Rule 37 of the Certification Rules, the CBFC is mandated to scrutinise applications within seven days and refer the film for screening within 15 days. Despite these regulations, no action was taken for nearly a month.
On 3rd July, the petitioners reapplied under the ‘priority scheme’, paying three times the standard fee as per Rule 33(2), reportedly following advice from CBFC officials. A screening was then scheduled for 7th July but was abruptly cancelled the day before without any further communication.
(With inputs from PTI)
