Sheela Selvi.N v. Chief Election Commisioner

ORDER (Order of the Court was made by the Hon'ble Chief Justice) The petitioner has filed this writ petition, styled as public interest litigation, seeking issuance of a writ of mandamus to direct the first respondent and second respondent to hold free, fair and peaceful elections upholding Article 324 of the Constitution of India which mandates the Commission to discharge of its constitutional responsibility of conducting free, fair and peaceful elections in the country as well as instruct the third and fourth respondents to issue/ensure a total ban against the screening of the said movie and not to permit the screening of the Movie Durandhar-2(The Revenge) in any form, including OTT Platform indefinitely, or till the Geopolitical situation becomes normal as well as until the Results of Lok sabha/General Elections 2026 all over India are declared. A further direction is sought to the effect that the said movie may be totally banned or screened only after censoring all derogatory statements against Pakistan and Bangladesh which were once a Part of our Great Indian Subcontinent (Hindustan) as well as censoring the scenes and dialogues which particularly grossly violate the fundamental rights of Indian citizens guaranteed under Articles 21 and 25 of the Constitution of India.

¶2It is not in dispute that the film was released on 19th March, 2026. The petitioner, till date, has not chosen to challenge the CBFC certification issued to the film. Once the certificate has been issued, there is prima facie a presumption that the authority concerned has taken into account all the Guidelines, including public order.

¶3A similar challenge made to the release of the same film was rejected by this Court vide order dated 10.4.2026 passed in W.P.No.14335 of 2026, holding that once the expert body has considered the impact on the public and has cleared the film, merely because a small section of the society has a different view, the exhibition of the film cannot be stalled. The said reasoning applies on all fours to the case on hand. For the foregoing reasons, the writ petition is dismissed. There shall be no order as to costs. (SUSHRUT ARVIND DHARMADHIKARI,CJ) (G.ARUL MURUGAN,J)

10.04.2026 Index : : sasi To:

¶1The Chief Election Commissioner Election Commission of India (ECI) Nirvachan Sadan, Ashoka Road New Delhi-110 001.

¶2Tami Nnadu State Chief Electoral Officer Tamil Nadu State Election Commission (Head office) 208/2, Jawaharlal Nehru Road Chennai-600 106.

¶3The Secretary Administrative (Head) Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Dept (Head office) Room No.552, A Wing, Sashtri Bhavan Dr.Rajendra Prasad Road, New Delhi-110 001. THE HON'BLE CHIEF JUSTICE AND G.ARUL MURUGAN,J.

(sasi) WP No. 14331 of 2026

10.04.2026

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED: 10.04.2026 CORAM : THE HONOURABLE MR. SUSHRUT ARVIND DHARMADHIKARI, CHIEF JUSTICE AND THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE G.ARUL MURUGAN WP No. 14331 of 2026 Sheela Selvi.N No.267, New Addl.Law Chambers High court of Madras Buildings Chennai-600 104. Petitioner(s) Vs 1. The Chief Election Commissioner Election Commission of India (ECI) Nirvachan Sadan, Ashoka Road New Delhi-110 001. 2. Tami Nnadu State Chief Electoral Officer Tamil Nadu State Election Commission (Head office) 208/2, Jawaharlal Nehru Road Chennai-600 106. 3. The Secretary Administrative (Head) Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Dept (Head office) Room No.552, A Wing, Sashtri Bhavan Dr.Rajendra Prasad Road, New Delhi-110 001. 4. Rajendra Singh Chief Executive Officer Central Board of Film Certification -CBFC (Additional Charge of the post of Regional Officer, CBFC, Mumbai) Films Division Complex, Phase -I Building 9th Floor, Dr.G.Deshmukh Marg, Mumbai-400 026. 5. Aditya Dhar, Film Maker (of Durandhar -(2) The Revenge) B62, Studios Mumbai, Maharashtra. 6. Lokesh Dhar Film Maker (of Durandhar-(2)The Revenue) B62, studios, Mumbai, Maharashtra. 7. Jyoti Deshpande Jio studios (Presenter and Producer) 9th floor, Maker Chambers IV 222, Nariman Point Mumbai Maharashtra-400 021. Respondent(s) PRAYER : Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking issuance of a writ of mandamus to direct the first respondent and second respondent to hold free, fair and peaceful elections upholding Article 324 of the Constitution of India which mandates the Commission to discharge of its constitutional responsibility of conducting free, fair and peaceful elections in the country as well as instruct the third and fourth respondents to issue/ensure a total ban against the screening of the said movie and not to permit the screening of the Movie Durandhar-2(The Revenge) in any form, including OTT Platform indefinitely, or till the Geopolitical situation becomes normal as well as until the Results of Lok sabha/General Elections 2026 all over India are declared; the said movie may be totally banned or screened only after censoring all derogatory statements against Pakistan and Bangladesh which were once a Part of our Great Indian Subcontinent (Hindustan) as well as censoring the scenes and dialogues which particularly grossly violate the fundamental rights of Indian citizens guaranteed under Articles 21 and 25 of the Constitution of India. For Petitioner(s): Ms. Sheela selvi.N For Respondent(s):Mr. Niranjan Rajagopalan Standing Counsel for R1 and R2