New Delhi, Jan 3.
Cinema hall owners and managements can bar patrons from getting food and beverages from outside into their precincts, the Supreme Court on Tuesday. However, they were under an obligation to ensure free drinking water and allow baby food to be carried in, it said.
A two-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud accordingly set aside, a 2018 Jammu and Kashmir High court order, disallowing cinema halls from barring customers from getting outside food and beverages into cinema halls.
The other judge on the bench was Justice P.S. Narasimha.
The High Court had acted on a plea that cinema owners were charging exorbitant amounts for food and beverages by restricting any food that can be brought in from outside.
The rules framed by the government do not prohibit movie goers from carrying their own food or water bottles into halls, it noted. Several theatre-owners and the Multiplex Association of India then challenged the High Court judgement.
The top court said that the cinema hall owners and multiplexes were well within their right to regulate entry of food and beverage into these complexes. The court cited their right to freedom of trade and business in this context.
A cinema hall is a private property and the owner of the hall was entitled to allow entry on such terms as he deems fit consistent with public order and safety, the court said.
“A viewer always has a choice not to buy food and beverages inside the multiplex,” the bench said. “The High Court exceeded its jurisdiction in passing such an order.”
Though there were no specific rule barring any customer from bringing in his own food and water, a cinema hall owner also has the right to carry on his trade and occupation, the court said.
“… rule-making power of the state has to be in consonance with the fundamental right of cinema hall owner to carry on his business, trade or occupation,” it said.
