SC ruling
'Cinema hall is not a gym, owners have right to set rules on outside food': Supreme Court
New Delhi/IBNS: Cinema halls and multiplexes have the right to set terms and conditions to decide whether they would allow food and beverages from outside, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
Hearing a petition that called for a ban on food from outside in the cinemas, the judges at one point remarked: "Should we start bringing jalebis to the movies?"
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha set aside a Jammu and Kashmir High Court order that had quashed 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.
"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," the judges ruled.
The case dates back to July 18, 2018, when the Jammu and Kashmir High Court set aside a ban on outside food and drinks in movie theatres. Due of the ban, people are forced to consume whatever is sold at the theatre, the High Court had then said.
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