Madras High Court Issues Notice On Plea To Remove Dialogues Glorifying 'Encounter' In Upcoming Vettaiyan Movie

The bench of Justice R Subramanian and Justice Victoria Gowri ordered notice to the Chief Secretary to the Government, the Central Board of Film Certification, and Lyca Production in a plea filed by Palanivelu from Madurai.

In his plea, Palanivel pointed out that in the recently released trailer of the movie Vettaiyan, Rajnikanth's character was seen saying that “encounter is not only a punishment but also a preventive action to stop such crimes”. Palanivel pointed out that if such unconstitutional dialogues were permitted to be screened, the public would soon start demanding encounters in every criminal case rather than putting the offender behind bars by judicial trials. He added that such a situation would lead to the accused being defenseless by losing his fundamental right to defense ingrained under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Palanivel submitted that the movie was not legally qualified for a U/A certificate when an unconstitutional extra-judicial killing was glorified and justified as legal and constitutional. He thus submitted that the movie must be restricted to adults only as a child would take the word of a top hero as a sanctified one in his young mind. He added that Tamil cinema has always played a big role in changing the psychology of the people and there was a chance that the people would start seeking justice through fake encounters thinking it as a way for speedy justice.

Palanivel further submitted that characterizing Rajnikanth's role as a renowned encounter specialist would promote ruthless Police Raj rather than having faith in the judicial system and other constitutional organs.

Palanivel submitted that he was approaching the court since the Cinematograph Act 1952 did not have any provision for a third party to make an objection and get redressal. He argued that though leisure and entertainment media are apart from logic and reality, the same could not be a reason to impart anti-constitutional ethos in the minds of the viewers of the movie and if such imparting is allowed, the very foundation of the democratic setup would likely be eroded.

Palanivel also submitted that the CBFC was under obligation to restrict a movie not only in the event of obscenity scenes but also in the event of legitimizing and sanctifying the extra-judicial killings by police in the name of encounters. Since a representation sent by Palanivel to the concerned authorities in this respect was not acted upon, Palanivel approached the court to stay the release of the movie and to remove/mute the dialogues promoting encounters.

Case Title: Palanivelu v The Chief Secretary To Government of Tamil Nadu and Others

Case No: WP(MD) 23631 of 2024