Sun TV Network Ltd., the producers of the recently released Rajinikanth starrer, Coolie The Powerhouse, have approached the Madras high court against the grant of ‘A’ certificate to the film by the Central Board of Film Certification, thereby making it impermissible for those below 18 years of age to watch it in cinemas.
Justice T.V. Thamilselvi on August 19 held as maintainable the civil miscellaneous appeal filed by the production house against the CBFC’s decision and directed the High Court Registry to number the case and list it for admission before her on August 20. The Registry had doubted the maintainability of the appeal and listed the unnumbered case before the judge on August 19 for taking a call on the matter. Central government senior panel counsel A. Kumaraguru also contended that the appeal was not maintainable.
However, senior counsel J. Ravindran, assisted by M. Sneha, convinced the court that denial of a ‘UA’ certificate to the film by the CBFC could be challenged before the high court by way of a civil appeal since the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), constituted under the Cinematograph Act, 1952, had been abolished. Concurring with the senior counsel’s submissions, the judge agreed to hear the appeal on August 20 after it was numbered.
