Jana Nayagan Leak Case: Madras HC Denies Bail, Says 1.2 Crore People Watched It Already

The Madras High Court last week denied bail to two persons accused of leaking Jana Nayagan, the eagerly awaited Tamil political action drama starring State CM C. Joseph Vijay, before its official theatrical release on piracy websites like Tamilrockers.

The Court highlighted the prosecution's submission that nearly 1.20 crore people had watched the illegally circulated version of the film online.

Justice C. Kumarappan dismissed the bail petitions filed by S. Rajini and Jayaprakash. The petitioners had been arrested and remanded to judicial custody on April 15, 2026, and June 4, 2026, respectively.

What are the allegations against the accused?

The case, registered by the State Cyber Crime Investigation Centre, involves charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Information Technology (IT) Act, the Copyright Act, and the Cinematograph Act.

The prosecution strongly opposed the bail, submitting that the fourth accused played a crucial role in piecing together various leaked portions of the movie to create a complete, full-length film.

Once merged, the accused facilitated the circulation of the movie through websites such as Tamilrockers and other social media platforms.

The prosecution explicitly rejected the accused's argument that their involvement was passive, pointing to the massive commercial damage caused when 1.20 crore users watched the illegal release.

During the hearing, counsel for the bail applicants argued that their clients were innocent and had merely watched the movie without any active involvement in its illegal release.

Accused side heavily relied on the ground of parity, pointing out that several co-accused in the same case had already been granted statutory bail.

Role of accused "serious in nature"

Justice Kumarappan found the role attributed to the petitioners to be "serious in nature". It said: "the involvement of the petitioners in merging the leaked portions of the movie into a full-length film and uploading the same on websites such as Tamilrockers and other online platforms, resulting in nearly 1.20 crore persons watching the illegally circulated version, this Court is of the view that the role attributed to the petitioners is serious in nature."

The Court considered that the State had already preferred an appeal challenging the statutory bail granted to the co-accused, and that appeal is currently pending consideration.

The bench also observed that accused Nos. 13 and 21 in the cybercrime network are still absconding. Given these circumstances, there was every possibility that the petitioners would abscond or tamper with witnesses if enlarged on bail, thereby derailing the investigation and trial.

Accordingly, the Criminal Original Petitions seeking bail were dismissed.

Case Title: S.Rajini v. The State with connected matter

Date of Order: July 2, 2026

Bench: Justice C. Kumarappan