The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday took note of the fact that crowds were gathering at cinema theatres for hours together to buy tickets for the Pongal film releases without maintaining physical distance or wearing face masks. It directed the State government and the theatre owners to ensure that COVID-19 guidelines were strictly followed.
The government submitted that the order allowing 100% occupancy in theatres had been revoked and a fresh order had been issued to allow 50% occupancy in compliance with the guidelines issued by the Union government. Permission for extra shows had been granted, with the welfare of the theatre owners kept in mind, Advocate-General Vijay Narayan said.
Representing the Tamil Nadu Theatre and Multiplex Owners Association, senior counsel Prabhakaran argued that the industry had come to a grinding halt owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The extra shows alone would not help the theatre owners. An increase in ticket prices, as in Noida and Delhi, would help. They also had to bear the sanitation cost, a recurring one, he said.
A Division Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and S. Ananthi observed that the State and the theatre owners must ensure that the 50% occupancy limit was not breached. Full occupancy should not be allowed at any cost and protocols must be followed, it said.
As for the increase in ticket prices, the court asked the Tamil Nadu Theatre and Multiplex Owners Association to approach the government, which could consider the request. When counsel for petitioners submitted that tickets might have been sold for full occupancy, the judges said in that case, the ticket-holders could be accommodated in the subsequent shows.
