Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
Supreme court said that Cinema halls owner had the right to prohibit outside food and beverages on their premises.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said that movie halls were owners’ private property, so they had the right to decide what could be carried. It set aside a Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) High Court order asking multiplexes and theatres not to prevent visitors from having their own food and beverages.
The Supreme Court, however, said cinemas should allow parents to bring food for infants and children and provide free drinking water to all visitors.
“A cinema hall owner has the right to regulate the entry of food and beverages. Whether to consume what is available is entirely upon the choice of the movie-goer. Viewers visit movie halls for entertainment,” it said.
“If a viewer enters a movie hall, he or she has to adhere to the rules of the cinema hall owner and it is evidently a matter of a commercial decision of the theatre owner,” said the court.
The Supreme Court pronounced its verdict on pleas filed by theatre owners in Jammu & Kashmir and the Multiplex Association of India challenging the high court order.
Supreme court – Cinema Hall Not A Gym”
The court was hearing a petition that called for a ban on food from outside at cinemas. Cinema halls and multiplexes have the right to set terms and conditions and decide whether to allow food and beverages from outside, the Supreme Court ruled.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha set aside a Jammu and Kashmir High Court order that had removed the ban on people carrying their own food and water in theatres.
“The cinema hall is not a gym where you need healthy food. It is a place of entertainment. A cinema hall is a private property. It is for the owner to decide subject to statutory rules. Saying that arms are not allowed or that no discrimination on 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?”
The judges said the High Court had overstepped its brief and asserted that cinemas have already been directed to provide, especially for children, free food and clean water. Whether or not to watch a movie is the choice of the viewer and once they enter the cinema hall, they have to abide by the management’s rules, they said.
The arguments took a hilarious turn when the judges tried to explain that point.
“Suppose someone starts getting jalebis inside the cinema hall then the theatre’s management can stop them. If the viewer wipes his sticky fingers on the seats, then who will pay for the cleaning? People can also bring tandoori chicken. Then there will be complaints of bones left in the hall. That could also bother people. No one is forcing them to buy popcorn,” said Chief Justice Chandrachud.
“For water, we can make a concession that free water be provided at movie theatres. But suppose they sell nimbu paani for ₹ 20, you can’t say I’ll go buy my nimbu from outside and squeeze it in a flask and make it inside the theatre
CONCLUSION
The Supreme Court’s conclusion was that the halls must, however, provide free hygienic drinking water to the viewers and allow parents to carry food for infants accompanying them.