K J ANJANAPPA Vs. S MARAPPA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this writ petition the petitioner has questioned the 'No Objection Certificate' (hereinafter referred to as the NOC) issued by the Dist Magistrate, Chitradurga, to respondent 1 on 19-3-74 to establish a touring cinema on site No,.7 of Challakere.

(2.) During the pendency of this writ petition the period of one year from the date on which the touring cinema was established pursuant to, the said 'NOC' expired. It is stated that respondent 1 has made an application for the regrant of a licence and that is still pending. Rule 98(2) of the Karnataka Cinema (Regulation) Rules, 1971 as amended in the year 1974 (hereinafter referred to as the Rules) provides that no licence in respect of a site shall be granted or regranted continuously for a period exceeding one year unless one month has elapsed after the expiry of the said period of one year. In other words what Rule 98 (2) provides is that no licence to run a touring cinema on a site can be given for more than one year on any occasion, and if the licence is issued for a period shorter than one year it may be regranted for a further period but not beyond one year from the date on which the licence was originally granted. After the expiry of one year there should be a time lag of one month. This view gets further strengthened by Rule 99 which states that subject to Rule 98 (2) no licence shall be granted under Rule 98 or regranted onder Rule 105 for a period exceeding one year but a licence may be granted for a period less than one year. It follows that regrant can be only of a licence, which is issued for less than one year, for a period not beyond one year from the date of the original grant Rule 105 (3) which states that a licence can be regranted subject to Rule 99 also emphasises the same view- It is, therefore, clear from the foregoing that after the expiry of one year it is necessary for the licensee to follow the procedure prescribed for the grant of a licence to run a touring cinema in order to obtain a fresh grant as there can be no regrant of a licence after it has ceased to be in force and there is a gap of one month. A regrant means a renewal without break.

(3.) An applicant for a fresh grant of licence has to obtain a 'NOC' under Rule 96 of the Rules as amended on 17-1-1973. Cl(5) of Rule 96 however states that the licensing authority may on an application made to him in this behalf dispense with the notice in Form 'B' under sub-rule (2) and the requirements of sub-rule (1) and the procedure specified in sub-rule (3) for grant of 'NOC' in respect of a camp site if a touring cinema had been allowed to camp) there on a previous occasion within a period of two and a half years from the date of application, provided that the licensing authority is satisfied after inspection that the site continues to conform to the conditions specified in Cls(h), (i), (j) and (k) of sub-rule (1) of Rule 27 and of Rule 107. It however does not rule out the necessity for the issue of a 'NOC'. On the other hand, the very fact that under sub-rule (5) of rule 96, an alternative procedure is prescribed for granting a 'NOC' within a period of two and a half years from the date on which another touring cinema nad been allowed to camp in the site in question, shows that there is a need for the" issue of a 'NOC' even before the expiry of two and a half years. Whether the procedure followed by the Dist Magistrate in issuing the 'NOC" is one provided under sub-rules (1) to (3) of Rule 96 or the procedure under sub-rule (5) of Rule 96, in-both the cases the Dist Magistrate should consider whether the provisions of Cls.(h), (i), (j) and (k) of sub-rule (1) of Rule 27 and of Rule 107 of the Rules are satisfied or not, It was argued that in Laxmi Tourina Talkies v. State of Karnataka AIR. 1975 Kar. 37=(1975) 1 KarLJ. 419.