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Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to process and issue the certification for the feature film “Raam Bhajarang,” ruling that a pending legal dispute cannot be the sole reason to withhold a censor certificate.

The court observed that the CBFC must perform its statutory duty under the Cinematograph Act, 1952.

Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka held that a statutory authority cannot refuse to carry out its legal responsibilities simply because a third party has filed a writ petition. The court said that unless there is an interim stay or injunction from a court, the CBFC is required to continue processing applications as per law.

It further observed that the CBFC’s role is limited to examining a film’s content for certification and not deciding ownership or contractual disputes between competing claimants.

Production house moved High Court

The petition was filed by Sunrise Entertainments, which claimed that the CBFC had not processed its application for certification despite there being no legal restriction. The production house told the court that it had completed the film. It also stated that it held the registered title of the film.

According to the petitioner, the CBFC kept the certification process on hold because another producer had filed a separate writ petition claiming rights over the film and seeking to prevent the issuance of the censor certificate.

After reviewing the claims, the court held that a statutory authority cannot refuse to decide an application and simply ask the applicant to approach the court.

Allowing the writ petition, the Telangana High Court directed the CBFC to immediately process the certification application for “Raam Bhajarang” and issue the certificate in accordance with the Cinematograph Act, 1952.