"Free Country, People Can Say What They Want": Madras High Court Rejects Plea To Ban Karuppu Movie For Allegedly Showing Judiciary In Bad Light

The Madras High Court on Thursday (21st May) dismissed a plea seeking to ban or regulate the recently released Tamil movie "Karuppu" starring Suriya and Trisha and directed by RJ Balaji. The plea had alleged that the movie portrayed the Indian judiciary in bad light.

The vacation bench of Justice GR Swaminathan and Justice V Lakshminarayanan orally observed that anyone could say anything in a free country like India. The court further orally remarked that the portrayal in the movie was, in fact, a matter for introspection.

"Anyone can say anything they want. It's a free country...There are lawyers indulging in unethical practices. There are judges involved in corruption also. They (movie makers) have just exaggerated it. I would say it is a matter of introspection," the bench orally remarked.

While the court dismissed the plea, it said that it would pass detailed orders later due to paucity of time.

The plea was filed by an advocate, RS Tamilvendan of Chennai. In his plea, Tamilvendan submitted that he was shocked after watching the Karuppu movie on May 17, 2026, which had shown the Indian judicial system in a bad light.

The petitioner submitted that in one of the scenes in the movie, a judge had been shown as being involved in bribery and consuming drugs. He argued that such scenes were against the constitution and damaged the reputation of judges. He argued that the director of the movie, Balaji, had criticised the Indian judicial system without any application of mind.

Further, the petitioner submitted that if the movie continued to run in theatres and OTT platforms, the public would start to lose trust in the judicial system. 

The petitioner also submitted that though he had sent representations to the Secretary, Home Department, the Secretary, Information and Public Relationship Department, and the Chief Executive Officer of the CBFC, no action had been taken to date, prompting him to approach the High Court.

Case Title: RS Tamilvendan v The Secretary and others

Case No: WP 20286 of 2026