Cinema halls: India
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The law
Maharashtra, 2018: Moviegoers can carry food into multiplexes
The Maharashtra government said that moviegoers cannot be stopped from carrying outside food into multiplexes, and from next month, it will impose a ban on dual MRP for packaged food and drinks.
Ravindra Chavan, junior minister for food and civil supplies, said according to the Maharashtra Cinemas (Regulation) Rules, 1966, cinemas cannot prohibit consumers from carrying food. The ban on dual pricing — the practice of charging different MRPs for the same product in different places — will be implemented from August 1. Chavan was replying to a calling attention motion moved by leader of the opposition Dhananjay Munde in the legislative council.
The measure, if implemented, will bring relief to consumers who face exorbitant charges for snacks and soft drinks in multiplexes. But there is concern over whether the laws cover this issue. Officials from the food department said the 1966 rules the minister is talking about are silent on taking food inside an establishment.
The Multiplex Association of India said they had not received any order and said the matter is sub judice. The Bombay HC is hearing a PIL filed by Jainendra Baxi on multiplexes barring outside food and charging steeply for snacks, seeking to “enforce the right to life of a cinema-goer’’. The HC has asked the state to file an affidavit in four weeks.
SC, 2023: cinema halls can prohibit outside food
AmitAnand Choudhary, January 4, 2023: The Times of India
New Delhi : The Supreme Court held that theatre owners can bar movie-goers from bringing food and beverages from outside to the hall, saying that being their private properties they are entitled to take commercial decisions and impose terms and conditions to regulate entry which are not contrary to public interest, safety and welfare.
A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha set aside the order passed by Jammu & Kashmir high court in 2018 by which it had directed that people be allowed to bring their own food and drinks inside the theatre. The issue has been pending in various HCs including Delhi and Bombay and the apex court’s order settled the issue onceand for all and would be applicable to other states also.
The bench, however, said that the theatre owners have to provide hygienic and safe drinking water free of cost and parents would also be allowed to take nutritious food for their infants from outside. The court said that moviegoers are not forced to purchase eatables and drinks from inside the halland it was upto them to do so.
The top court said that owners are entitled to keep the theaters clean and to prevent littering by prohibiting eatables from outside and the viewer had to abide by the rules fixed by management after entering inside the theatre. “The cinema hall is not a gym where you need healthy food. It is a place of entertainment. A cinema hall is privateproperty. It is for the owner to decide subject to statutory rules,” the bench said. “Acinema hall is a private property. What goes in is for the owner of the property to decide subject to statutory rules. So saying that arms are not allowed or no discrimination on the basis of caste or gender can be there is fine. But how can the high court say that they can bring any food inside cinema halls. Suppose someone starts getting jalebis. Owner would not want anyone wiping their hands on the seats. It’s his right. He may not want tandoori chicken to be bought in. No one is forcing them to buy popcorn. But the owner has a right,” the bench observed.
Finding fault with the HC order, the bench said that the HC exceeded its jurisdiction by passing the order on a PIL which adversely affected the rights of theatre owners.
Number of screens
2016
See graphic, Top 4 cinema chains in India and the number of screens
See also
See also
Delhi: Cinema halls/ theatres / Madras/ Chennai theatres/ cinemas / PVR (Priya Village Roadshow) group / Sapphire, Emerald, Blue Diamond: Chennai/ Madras /
Cinema halls: India
