Theatre owner can determine if food from outside can be permitted: SC

The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday the owners of cinema halls are entitled to set the terms and conditions for sale of food and beverages and can determine whether outside food should be permitted within the theatre precincts. The apex court set aside a direction of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court which had in July 2018 directed multiplex and cinema hall owners there not to prohibit movie goers from carrying their own food articles and water inside the theatres. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha observed that cinema hall is a private property of the owner, who is entitled to have terms and conditions so long as they are not contrary to public interest, safety and welfare. “Viewers visit a cinema hall for the purpose of entertainment. We are clearly of the view that the high court transgressed the limits in the exercise of its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution by ordering and directing the state to ensure that there should be no prohibition on a movie goer bringing eatables and beverages from outside within the precinct of a cinema hall,” the bench said.