'No Report That Cinema Halls Facilitated Covid-19 Clusters': Kerala High Court To Consider Plea Seeking Reopening Of Movie Theatres

A plea has been moved in the Kerala High Court seeking approval to run cinema halls in the State with 20% intake and strict adherence to Covid-19 protocol citing that other sectors are still functioning without any interdictions. 

Justice N. Nagaresh on Tuesday directed the Government Pleader to get instructions and posted the matter for consideration on January 27. 

The petition was filed by an organisation of film exhibitors in the State challenging the recent Government Orders dated 20th and 24th January 2022 which imposed restrictions on the functioning of movie theatres in the State in the wake of rising Covid-19 cases. 

The plea filed through Advocate Arun Chandran elaborates on how the Malayalam film industry has faced a setback since the inception of the pandemic which led to cinema halls and multiplexed being closed down for 19 months.

"With losses of over Rs 900 crore, the Malayalam film industry is staring at its worst crisis ever," reads the plea.

After facing one crisis after the other, the movie theatres finally reopened in October 2021 with only 50 per cent occupancy as per State guidelines. 

In an effort to beat the pandemic blues, the petitioner and its members have been scrupulously observing the Covid-19 protocol since their reopening, including social distancing, sanitizing, and face masks.

However, when the third wave of the pandemic hit, the State issued a Government Order which ironically let malls, theme parks and wedding halls function with adherence to protocol but completely shut down cinema halls, swimming pools and gyms. 

The petitioner organisation argued that such a restriction imposed on a particular industry is 'arbitrary, unreasonable and discriminatory'. 

Following this Order, the District Disaster Management Authority of Thiruvananthapuram came up with similar restrictions.

The petitioners pointed out that there were no restrictions on malls, hotels, restaurants, swimming pools and health clubs attached to hotels and apartment complexes.

Even the toddy shops and bar hotels are permitted to function in Category 'C' districts. The public transport system and such as KSRTC and Indian Railways were still functioning without any of these restrictions, they asserted.

The organisation argued that COVID 19 has already paralysed the Malayalam film industry and the film exhibitors. 

Therefore, the impugned orders mandating the closure of cinema halls and multiplexes in the State will throw the industry to further ruins.

It was also highlighted that there was no case for the State that cinema halls and their operations have resulted in an increase in the number of cases in any manner, whereas reports suggest that the functioning of the malls offering reduction sales is contributing to the increase of reported cases.

It was also urged that only Kerala had such restrictions imposed on cinema halls and theatres whereas, in the neighbouring States, they were allowed to function with strict adherence to Covid-19 guidelines. 

"Nowhere in the state of Kerala it has been reported that the cinema halls have facilitated or became catalyst to form Covid clusters thus the directions contained in Ext P2 and P3 proceeding of the respondents are arbitrary, discriminatory and without application of mind." 

On these grounds, it was argued that it is appropriate that the petitioner and the member are allowed to run the cinema halls with the intake of 50 percentages by strictly adhering to Covid protocol and guidelines issued by the authorities from time to time.

Case Title: Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala v. State of Kerala & Ors.