Parliament Question: Notices issued by CBFC

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3291 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.03.2026 NOTICES ISSUED BY CBFC 3291: SHRI DEREK O’ BRIEN: Will the Minister of INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING be pleased to state: a) the year-wise number of notices, objections or directions issued by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to feature films during the last five years; b) the category-wise grounds cited for such actions, including public order, obscenity, political content, religious sentiments and national security; and c) whether the Ministry has issued any written guidelines/advisories/directions to the CBFC beyond the Cinematograph Act and Rules, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (DR. L. MURUGAN) (a) to (c): The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), a statutory body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, certifies films for public exhibition. The CBFC is guided by the Cinematograph Act, 1952, the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024 and the guidelines issued thereunder while certifying the films. Cuts or modifications are recommended if the content violates statutory parameters concerning sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, defamation, contempt of court or incitement to an offence. Year-wise statistics of total films certified, cut-modifications notices issued and films certified with cuts-modifications are given in the table below: Year 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 Total films certified 8299 12719 18070 17431 15444 Cut modifications notices issued 3167 3945 5323 5425 5738Year 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 Films certified with cuts/ 1475 1911 2205 2440 3033 modifications Refused certification 0 0 1 0 2 The details of excisions, modifications or replacements, if any, are recorded in Part-II of the certificate issued for the concerned film. Under Section 4(2)(iv) of the Cinematograph Act, 1952, the CBFC may direct the applicant to carry out such excisions or modifications in the film as it considers necessary before granting certification. Films are examined by CBFC in their entirety and assessed based on their overall impact in accordance with the extant provisions. *****