Kannada

Advocate KV Dhananjay

Advocate GR Mohan

Karnataka

Entertainment

Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce

KV Chandrashekar

Bengaluru

Pallavai

Shylendra Babu

MORE HARM THAN GOOD

Fake news of the decade

CM cannot cap cinema hall tickets at Rs 200 by just issuing an order; yet he fooled us with his antics. Was he ignorant of the law or pulling a fast one?Mid-week blow alert: If you were jubilating about the new ‘economy’ movie tickets promised by the Chief Minister – the ones that were supposed to cost no more than Rs 200, effective Wednesday – know that all that cheer was for nothing. You’ve been taken for a ride. On Wednesday, some multiplexes continued to charge Rs 400, even Rs 500. Why? Because, it’s not that easily done.Despite the undersecretary to the department ofand Culture, and the Information Department signing an order in this regard on Tuesday, nothing changed on the ground. And it is unlikely to change either.“This is an order that cannot be implemented,” is what legal experts are saying. And that is the reason why multiplexes are not bothered. What was required to put a cap on film ticket prices was a law under a relevant statute; in this case, the Cinemas (Regulation) Act. Legal experts say that otherwise there is no way Tuesday’s order can go into the official gazette and considered a law.The government’s order has come after a suggestion by the Information Department. The order cites that the Chief Minister had made a budget announcement about capping the ticket price and the order is being passed based on it. But can an order be made based on a speech by the CM?said: “This is a totally bogus order. The Chief Minister’s budget speech is not a source of legal power. However, the only source of power cited in this Order is the Chief Minister’s budget speech and nothing else. It is difficult to imagine a more reckless order from this state government. Did they really take months together to reflect and pass this kind of a shoddy order?”said: “Under the Cinematography Act, it is the DC, in his role as the district magistrate, who has powers over theatres.has made rules under this Act. On the other hand, the tax on tickets is controlled by the Commercial Tax Department under theAct. You could have amended the Act and included the cap on ticket prices there. Else, you have to amend the Cinemas Act so that the DC can issue necessary directions to theatres. As of now, the order on Tuesday is just a piece of paper. It will not stand the scrutiny of courts. If challenged, it will be stayed and quashed.”Dhananjay said: “In Karnataka, there is the Karnataka Cinemas (Regulation) Act, 1964 that governs cinema theatres. It looks like this government knew that there is no provision in this statute to support a ticket price cap. So, rather than amending it, the state government has simply resorted to this ridiculous trick and has passed what I call as a bogus Order – by steering clear of any legal provision. It is an unprecedented kind of government order.”Theatre owner and formerpresidentalso believes that the cap is not legal. “It is the DC who has to send a message or circular to theatres. The information department is only for disseminating news and cannot late theatres. Even the law department is only for concurrence. For us, after the DC, the home secretary is the appealing authority followed by the divisional commissioner. In its present form there is no one who can implement that order. You cannot even penalise a theatre for now following it,” Chandrashekar said.GR Mohan agreed. “There is no need for anyone to follow this order. It is for nobody,” he said. Dhananjay said: “Cinema theatres are private properties and the Chief Minister cannot make private businesses dance according to his tunes. If the state government intends to regulate a private business, it should do so by 1) respecting the constitutional right of private businesses to be reasonably regulated and 2) exercising proper legal power. Both are terribly absent here. As the order itself is bad in law in toto, it is needless to say that the classification of cinema theatres as Gold Class, IMAX or 4D shows that the people who have passed this order neither know head nor tail of cinema business, cinema regulation or consumer choices.”What the government has done now is similar to what the city police commissioner did a few years ago. Thepolice wanted single screen theatres to have only four shows. A few theatres like Vaibhav andthat had five shows a day challenged this in the High Court. Justicehad struck down the order. A similar order that did not stand the scrutiny of law was about screening Kannada films in theatres for at least 12 weeks a year. With no law sanctioning this order, the HC struck it down.Another order was signed the same day along with the Rs 200 order. This one was to have one screen in multiplexes screen Kannada and regional films between 1.30 pm and 7 pm during prime time. “This will only restrict Kannada films. Many multiplexes have 8, 10 or 12 screens. Now they will cite this and screen Kannada films in only one screen,” says film distributor ‘Mars’ Suresh.Lawyers say that the CM does not have the authority to pass such an order just because he announced it in his budget. Only the DC, in his role as the district magistrate, has powers over theatres. The govt should have amended the Entertainment Act or the Cinemas Act to introduce a cap on ticket prices.