E-Paper
Poll code violation: Cinema hall owner, manager, distribution firm booked in Patiala for running govt ad
The video adverts were said to have been running in the cinema hall without any approval from the Election Commission. As per the FIR, the manager and owner of Prime Cinema in Rajpura have been booked under Sections 188 and 177 of the Indian Panel Code (IPC) while the CEO has been booked under Section 188 of the IPC.
The police lodged an FIR for violation of the model code of conduct (MCC) in the run-up to the upcoming parliamentary polls against the owner and the manager of a cinema hall in Rajpura and the chief executive officer (CEO) of a film distributor company on Tuesday.
The video adverts were said to have been running in the cinema hall without any approval from the Election Commission. As per the FIR, the manager and owner of Prime Cinema in Rajpura have been booked under Sections 188 and 177 of the Indian Panel Code (IPC) while the CEO has been booked under Section 188 of the IPC.
Punjab chief electoral officer (CEO) Sibin C said that the office had received a complaint on April 6 from an RTI activist that a promotional video advertisement (ads) featuring the Punjab government logo and the chief minister’s appearance were being played in cinema halls across the state violating the model code of conduct.
Following the complaint, the chief electoral officer sought a report from the deputy commissioner, Patiala, under whose jurisdiction the Prime Cinema, Rajpura (Patiala), falls. The secretary, public relations department, government of Punjab, who issues releasing order for all Punjab government advertisements to various agencies, has also been asked to file a report on the issue.
Meanwhile, the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) of the election commission is learnt to have already held a meeting on April 7 in this regard. During the meeting, the accused manager and owner of the Prime Cinema failed to produce any authorisation from the MCMC. The CEO of content creator of film distribution company also failed to respond or share any such authorisation to run a Punjab government advertisement featuring chief minister Bhagwant Mann.
“Thus, the said act of displaying uncertified political advertisement after coming into force of the MCC is without any authorisation from any political party/candidate/department of the government. The committee also observed that the contents of the said advertisement haven’t been approved/pre-certified by it and, therefore, there is a violation of the guidelines of the ECI regarding pre-certification of political advertisements,” reads the FIR lodged at Rajpura Sadar Police station in Patiala.
The manager of the Prime Cinema had pleaded before the MCMC that the content displayed in the cinema hall was old and provided by film distribution company, New Delhi. However, the MCMC committee found out that the content – which was being aired in the cinema hall – was not old, therefore, recommended slapping section 177 (furnishing false information to a public servant).
After the registration of the FIR, RTI activist Manik Goyal, who is the complainant in the case, said, “The Election Commission seems to have already absolved the Punjab government by stating that they (government) did not instruct them (Prime Cinema) to play the ads after the MCC came into force. This raises the question that how come a cinema owner or distribution company would play ads without having been paid or without directions from the government or ruling party?”
In the wake of the said complaint, Sibin has also sought reports from all deputy commissioners-cum-district electoral officers across the state apparently to ascertain the status of any such display of the government advertisements in any of the cinema halls across the state.
