There has been another major development in the legal battle over the alleged leak of Thalapathy Vijay’s film ‘Janna Nayagan’. The case remains one of the biggest piracy investigations in Tamil cinema of late, with authorities investigating how the film was leaked online before it was certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and before its official theatrical release.
Meanwhile, the Madras High Court has issued an important order that could change the next course of the investigation as the investigation progresses.
Madras supreme court He refuses bail in ‘Jana Nayagan’ movie leak case.
The Madras High Court on July 2 rejected the bail applications of accused S Ragini, Jayaprakash and the 11th accused in the ‘Jana Nayagan’ leak case. The prosecution told the court during the hearing that nearly 1.2 crore people had watched the film online before its release, making it one of the biggest piracy cases in recent years, The Hindu reported.
The prosecution also alleged that the main accused, a freelance film editor, copied the film files from the editing studio to a hard drive.
According to investigators, the footage was later compiled into a full-length movie and uploaded to Google Drive, where it allegedly spread to piracy platforms. After considering the seriousness of the charges, the court refused to release the defendants on bail.
Chennai Police Continue investigating them
The prosecution informed the court that the Chennai Police are yet to complete the investigation and have so far only filed a preliminary chargesheet. Officials also stated that two of the 21 defendants are still at large, and that tracking them down is crucial to uncovering alleged financial transactions linked to the hacking network. The investigative body said that releasing the defendants at this stage could affect the investigation, as there were concerns about the possibility of tampering with evidence or attempts to influence witnesses.
Based on these notes, the court accepted the prosecution’s request to continue the investigation without granting bail.
The Jana Nayagan hacking investigation is still far from over
The alleged leak had prompted the producers of the film to approach the Supreme Court earlier and obtain an interim order directing ISPs to block unauthorized online screening of ‘Jana Nayagan’. The case has since evolved into a large-scale investigation into digital piracy and illegal circulation of unreleased films. As police continue to examine digital evidence, financial links and the involvement of the remaining accused, the investigation remains active.
The latest Supreme Court order indicates that the investigation is far from complete, as authorities continue their efforts to identify everyone allegedly linked to one of the biggest piracy cases in Tamil cinema.