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Cinema halls private property, owners can restrict people from bringing own food: SC
The SC ruled that theatre owners cannot be asked to fix uniform ticket rates as the facilities provided may vary from theatre to theatre depending on the audience that they cater to.
New Delhi Cinema halls can restrict moviegoers from bringing food items to the theatre premises, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday, holding that cinema halls are the private property of owners, who are within their rights to impose terms and conditions on the entry of people visiting these establishments for the purpose of entertainment.
The court further ruled that theatre owners cannot be asked to fix uniform ticket rates as the facilities provided may vary from theatre to theatre depending on the audience that they cater to.
Hearing a batch of appeals filed by multiplex and theatre owners in Jammu & Kashmir, the bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justice PS Narasimha said, “The property of cinema halls constitutes private property of the owner of the cinema hall. The owner is entitled to fix such terms and conditions so long as it is not opposed to public interest, safety and welfare.”
The multiplex owners had challenged a July 18, 2018 decision by the J&K high court permitting moviegoers to take food items to cinema halls. The petitioners before the high court were two practising lawyers who complained that nutritious food was not served inside the theatres, and that the J&K (Regulation) Rules 1975 did not prohibit carrying food. They had further argued that moviegoers were left with no option but to purchase food sold in the theatre complex at exorbitant rates.
The bench, however, told the petitioners, “A cinema hall is not a gym or a place for nutritious food but a place for entertainment. If somebody brings jalebis or tandoori chicken inside the hall, it is for the owner to decide that I do not want my hall to be dirty as somebody may wipe their hands on the seats.”
The court further envisaged a situation where a person may object to lemon water being sold inside theatre for ₹20, and decide to bring lemon and make their own drink inside the theatre.
The top court said that the high court clearly exceeded its jurisdiction by lifting the prohibition on bringing outside food when the 1975 Regulations did not provide any specific mandate to the owners for allowing outside food. The bench said, “If viewer seeks to enter the hall, they must abide by the J&K Regulations subject to which entry is granted. Having reserved right of admission, it is open for the owner to permit or not permit any food inside the hall. It is evidently a matter left to the owner. The high court has exceeded its jurisdiction in directing what was absent in the Regulations.”
The theatre owners, represented by senior advocates KV Vishwanathan and S Niranjan Reddy, said that the ticket issued to moviegoers is a contract between the theatre owner and the viewer. According to them, the back of the ticket clearly provided a restriction on bringing food into the hall. However, they submitted that no hall will be unreasonable to not permit infant food or a bottle of milk for feeding the infant or young child during the duration of the movie. It was further pointed out that all theatres are providing free and hygienic drinking water at their facilities.
The bench recorded this submission while setting aside the direction of the J&K high court restricted to that portion of the order allowing outside food.
Another direction by the high court pertained to pricing of tickets, to which the top court said that since the Cinema (Regulation) Rules applicable to ticket pricing in J&K was not under challenge before the high court, the direction of the court in this regard should not be treated as imposing any conditions on the rules.
The petitioners before the high court were represented by senior advocate Bimal Kumar Jad, who told the top court that the tickets issued by the theatres in question varied between ₹500 to ₹800, and there should be uniformity as regards the price of tickets and food.
The bench responded: “How can there be uniformity in ticket prices? Some theatres give you recliners, some are air conditioned, others are not. They cater to different audiences. Can you suggest that multiplexes in Srinagar should charge the same as multiplexes in Delhi?”
Along with the batch of appeals from J&K, the top court also heard and decided separate appeals filed against orders passed by the Madhya Pradesh high court raising similar issue, and transfer petitions filed by two individuals to bring similar matters pending before the high courts of Delhi and Bombay.
Across the country, there are state-specific Cinema Regulation Act and accompanying rules. But these rules do not specify on carrying outside food to theatres. The J&K high court took a view that since the rules do not prohibit carrying outside food, the same must be allowed. The MP high court, however, took a contrary view that outside food cannot be permitted as cinema hall is a private property. The issue was pending consideration in high courts of Delhi and Mumbai.
