The Supreme Court allowed the release of the animated film Mahaprabhu Jagannath after the Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra, and directed that the film should not be released earlier than July 28, 2026, with July 27, 2026 treated as the end of the yatra. The dispute matters for UPSC because it combines freedom of expression, religious sentiment, and the limits of judicial intervention in film certification.
The film makers, Ele Animations, had challenged an order of the Odisha High Court that banned screening even though the Central Board of Film Certification had cleared the film. The Supreme Court's order allows release, but only after the religious festival ends, showing a balancing approach rather than a full rejection of the film makers' claim.
What happened
The Supreme Court permitted the animated film Mahaprabhu Jagannath to be released after the Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra. The Court said devotion is internal and that an animated film cannot reduce piety; it treated objections about animation affecting devotion as concerns about imagination and form.
Earlier position and dispute
The film had been prohibited for not strictly adhering to the Skanda Purana and Brahma Purana. The Odisha High Court had banned screening despite certification by the Central Board of Film Certification. The State of Odisha said the temple trustees and the Gajapati of the Lord Jagannath Temple found parts of the film objectionable.
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