KAPOOR INVESTMENTS P LTD Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners have challenged the validity of the Karnataka Cinemas (Regulation) (Amendment) Rules, 1979, (hereinafter referred to as 'Amendment Rules'), by which in Form-F of the Karnataka Cinemas (Regulation) Rules, 1971, (hereinafter referred to as 'the Rules'), under the heading 'conditions of the licence,' after condition 12, the following condition has been inserted: "12A. The licensee shall, exhibit Kannada film for a period of not less than twelve weeks in a year." Another condition i.e., 13A in Form-G has also been incorporated; but in these petitions we are not concerned with that condition.

(2.) The petitioners are owners or lessees of cinema theatres holding licences to exhibit cinematograph films. The petitioners have all along been exhibiting only first run pictures. The Government of Karnataka, by Notification No. HD 69 CNA dated 6-7-1979 published in the Karnataka Gazette dated 7-7-1979, amended the Rules. According to the said notification, Form-F prescribed under the Rules has been amended by including the aforesaid condition 12A. In these petitions, the petitioners have pleaded that the Amendment Rules are beyond the competence of the State Government, that the Amendment Rules are ultra vires Section 5(2) of the Karnataka Cinemas (Regulation) Act, 1964, (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'), that the Government through Rules cannot impose conditions and restrictions subject to which the licence is to be granted as the imposition of conditions and restrictions is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Licensing Authority, that the Licensing Authority has no jurisdiction to impose conditions embodied in the Rules while regranting the licence as the petitioners have got a vested right to run the cinema under the conditions and restrictions imposed on them while granting the licence, that condition No. 12A introduced by the Amendment Rules cannot be deemed as a condition imposed by the Licensing Authority, and that the Amendment Rules are violative of Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.

(3.) The petitions are contested on behalf of the respondents who have filed their statement of objections wherein it is averred that the exhibitors of cinematograph films were exhibiting films which they thought would fetch maximum profits and they were systematically omitting to exhibit Kannada films though the majority of the people of Karnataka were desirous of having the benefit of exhibition of Kannada films, that the official language of the State being Kannada the majority of the people who speak Kannada want to see and enjoy Kannada films which depict Kannada culture, literature and art, that contrary to the wishes and interests of the majority of the people in the State a few exhibitors were solely bent upon making profits excluding the exhibition of Kannada films which were not in the interest of the general public, that whenever Kannada film producers or distributors approached the exhibitors, the exhibitors imposed unreasonable conditions and made it impossible for the producers of Kannada films and distributors of the same to see that Kannada films are shown to the Members of the public, that the Kannada speaking people of Karnataka were having a feeling that they were deprived of seeing Kannada films and learning about their own culture, art or literature, that therefore several Members raised their voice stating that in the State of Karnataka sufficient encouragement and scope were not given to the Kannada art, literature, films, dramatics and fine arts, that there was a demand that unless the State comes to the rescue of the Kannada people the fine arts, particularly in Kannada, would not prosper, that there was a special demand that cinema theatres should be made to exhibit Kannada films for the benefit of the majority of the people of the State of Karnataka and this demand, was found to be very reasonable by the State Government as the official language of the State is Kannada and exhibition of Kannada films would promote and spread Kannada literature, fine arts, dramatics and other cultural activities, and that is is well-known that the medium of cinematograph is not only for entertainment of the people but also to educate them and with this object in mind the State Government has framed the Amendment Rules. It is further averred that the restriction imposed by the Amendment Rules is in public interest, that the Rule is intended to benefit the majority of the people of the State, that the assumption of the petitioners that by exhibiting Kannada films they would incur financial loss is unfounded, that Kannada films can be exhibited without any difficulty for 12 weeks in a year, and that by requiring exhibition of Kannada films for 12 weeks in a year it cannot be said that the producers or distributors of Kannada films want imposition of unreasonable demand on the exhibitors. It is also averred that the restriction imposed by the Amendment Rules is not unreasonable nor would it affect trade and commerce, that the Government had enough material to frame the Rules and objections were called before effecting amendments and there was no opposition from the Members of the public and on the contrary certain demands were made that adequate provision should be made to encourage exhibition of Kannada films in the interest of the majority of the people of the State, and that the Amendment Rules have been made validly by the State Government and they are not ultra vires Section 5(2) of the Act and these petitions are without any merit and deserve to be dismissed.