KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday sought the view of the state government on a petition filed by Film Exhibitors United Organization of Kerala against prohibiting the functioning of cinema theatres citing a spike in Covid cases.
The petitioners pointed out that there are no restrictions to the functioning of malls, hotels, restaurants, swimming pools, and health clubs attached to hotels and apartment complexes. Even toddy shops and bar hotels are permitted to function in category ‘C’ districts. Hence, the restrictions imposed on a particular industry are arbitrary and discriminatory.
According to them, the government is being liberal with the functioning of malls, toddy shops and theme parks with a direction to take Covid precautionary measures. The same condition could have also been made applicable to theatre owners. But the government has taken a decision to close cinema halls, which is clear discrimination towards film exhibitors.
The spread of the virus can never be associated with theatres but on the other hand, places like malls, court halls, education institutions, etc. are the prime spots. They also sought to function with 50 per cent occupancy, adhering to Covid protocols as prescribed by the government.
When the petition came up for hearing before Justice N Nagaresh, counsel for the petitioners sought to stay the government order directing them to close down theatres. However, the court orally said it would not stay the order for the time being. The petitioners pointed out that the Malayalam film industry was in a crisis and had reported a loss of over Rs 900 crore. The theatre owners were also the worst hit owing to the pandemic.
The government had allowed the opening of theatres in October 2021 after a gap of nine months in the wake of the first wave of Covid. The cinemas had thus started functioning with 50 per cent occupancy following the mandatory Covid protocol.
However, the government has now imposed certain restrictions including Sunday lockdown in the wake of a surge in Covid cases. The order issued on January 20 in this regard had said that cinema theatres, swimming pools, and gymnasiums would not be allowed to function.