NOD TO FOOD IN MULTIPLEX IS A SECURITY HAZARD: HC

The Bombay High Court asked the Maharashtra government on Wednesday to explain how permitting people to carry food from outside into multiplexes could pose a security threat.

The bench was responding to the state government's affidavit stating that it does not deem it necessary to interfere with the ban on outside food in multiplexes, as it may create “chaos” or “security issues”.

What security concern can be caused by food inside theatres? People are not prohibited from carrying food to any other public place besides cinema halls, the court said.

“If people can be permitted to carry home food inside aircraft then why not to theatres?" the bench sought to know.

“Also, you (the government) yourself have said there is no specific legal provision behind such prohibition. So, what kind of security problems are you anticipating?" it asked.

The court also dismissed the argument of senior advocate Iqbal Chagla, representing the Multiplexes Owners' Association, that one could not cite his fundamental right to seek that he or she be allowed to carry food inside theatres.

The price of food sold inside multiplexes is a commercial decision but the prohibition on outside food is because of security reasons, he asserted. “You never know what people might carry in the shape of food. Also, at the airport, there are stronger security arrangements than that at cinema theatres,” Chagla reasoned.

“World over, there is a prohibition on carrying food from outside into cinema halls, theatres, but in New York, Paris, and London no one complains. Tomorrow, citizens will invoke their fundamental right and want to carry their own drinks into the Taj hotel or other restaurants," Chagla said. The high court, however, noted that the cinema hall owners' association could not compare restaurants with multiplexes.

“We are only on the issue of security, since that is the State's main argument. Explain what security problems a person can cause by carrying food items from home into a multiplex?" the bench said.

The bench has been hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed through advocate Aditya Pratap, seeking that the prohibition on outside food in multiplexes be revoked.