Madras High Court: In a writ petition filed by the producer of the film seeking mandamus for permitting screening of 5 special shows of the film ‘LEO’ starring Joseph Vijay Chandrasekha, at 07.00 a.m. from 19-10-2023 to 24-10-2023 and permitting screening of an additional special show of the film on 19-10-2023, which is the dates of release, at 4.00 a.m., Anita Sumanth, J. has directed the State to permit the screening of the upcoming ‘LEO’ movie from 07:00 am instead of 09:00 am.
The Court noted that the petitioner had approached the Principal Secretary to Government, Home (Cinema) Department seeking a relaxation of the conditions under 14-A of Form C of the Tamil Nadu Cinemas (Regulation) Rules, 1957. The Court said that in terms of 14-A, a theatre may screen not more than 4 shows of a film within the maximum permitted exhibition time, during the day. The Court said that though 14-A does not stipulate the exhibition time per se, the Office Memorandum, dated 18-08-1973, stipulated the range of times for exhibition as 9.00 a.m. to 1.30 a.m of the succeeding day.
The State submitted that it considered and granted permission for one special show in addition to four regular shows, exercising the power vested in it under Section 11 of the Tamil Nadu Cinemas Regulation Act, 1955. However, the Court said that though the Government Order has accepted the petitioner’s request for a special screening, permitting 5 shows of the film between 19-10-2023 and 24-10-2023, the Government Order does not relax the time of commencement of the screening.
The petitioner stated that the duration of the film is itself 2 hours and 45 minutes and taking note of the mandatory time gap of 30 minutes between two shows and interval of 20 minutes during the screening, it would be impossible to accommodate 5 shows between 9.00 a.m. and 1.30 a.m. of the next day. It is for this reason that the petitioner had sought relaxation of commencement of show time to 7.00 a.m
The Court said that the Government Order, while accepting the request for screening of special shows has directed that screening commence only at 9.00 a.m, which, in fact, makes the said order unworkable. Further, it said that the defence put forth that the authority was unaware of the duration of the film, is ought to have been ascertained prior to accepting the request for exemption. In addition, the authority has rejected the request for screening of the 7th show on the date of release, being 19-10-2023. Thus, as the Government Order has not been challenged, the petitioner has accepted the rejection of his request for screening of 7th show on 19-10-2023.
Concerning the opinion of the State to explore exhibition of 5 shows between 9.00 a.m. and 1.30 a.m., the Court viewed that, in the interests of public safety, there should not be any compromise on the time for intervals and in-between shows.
Therefore, the Court said that the only request to be re-considered would be as to whether the screening of shows between 19-10-2023 and 24-10-2023 might commence from 7.00 a.m. instead of 9.00 a.m. Further, it directed the theatre owners to ensure that all proper protocols will be followed in this regard.
The Court impleaded Tamil Nadu Theatre and Multiplex Owners Association as respondents, in this writ petition.
[K.Ramachandran v Tamil Nadu Theatre and Multiplex, 2023 SCC OnLine Mad 6336, Order dated 17-10-2023]