After shocking the Tollywood film industry by regulating the movie ticket prices, the Andhra Pradesh government had started a crackdown on the theatres across the state that are not following the prescribed guidelines. Holding responsible for violating the norms, a few establishments have been seized by the authorities.
Hearing a petition on the theatre seizure issue, the Andhra Pradesh High court found fault with the Tahsildar seizing the establishment. The court had ruled out, who has the power to do so and said that only the concerned official enjoys the power to seize the establishment.
A theatre establishment in Srikakulam's Sompeta which goes by the name Srinivasa Mahal was recently seized by the concerned Tahasildar. Challenging the development, the theatre owner had knocked on the doors of the High Court.
Hearing the petition, the High Court expressed its dissatisfaction with Tahasildar seizing the establishment. The court said, Tahasildar has no power to do so and maintained that Joint Collector who grants license for the establishment holds the power to seize the same.
During the arguments, the lawyer who represented the Andhra Pradesh government told the court that the Tahsildar had acted as per the instructions received by the concerned District Collector. However, the Court was not satisfied with the arguments and said that only the Joint Collector should seize the theatres if any violations were found.
The theatre owner who had knocked on the doors of the Andhra Pradesh High Court got a major sigh of relief as the Court issued directives saying that the theatre should be reopened and the theatre can run the business as the license renewal issue is still pending with the concerned officials.
The seizure of the theatres has been going on in the state since the Andhra Pradesh government issued a Government Order to regulate movie ticket prices. The government is saying that the decision was taken to make the ticket prices available for the common people.
While regulating the movie ticket prices across the establishments, the government is also looking at other aspects like prices of food items and the facilities offered there. If any violations were found, the authorities are not shying away from slapping the theatre establishments with seizure orders.
Hearing a petition on the theatre seizure issue, the Andhra Pradesh High court found fault with the Tahsildar seizing the establishment. The court had ruled out, who has the power to do so and said that only the concerned official enjoys the power to seize the establishment.
A theatre establishment in Srikakulam's Sompeta which goes by the name Srinivasa Mahal was recently seized by the concerned Tahasildar. Challenging the development, the theatre owner had knocked on the doors of the High Court.
Hearing the petition, the High Court expressed its dissatisfaction with Tahasildar seizing the establishment. The court said, Tahasildar has no power to do so and maintained that Joint Collector who grants license for the establishment holds the power to seize the same.
During the arguments, the lawyer who represented the Andhra Pradesh government told the court that the Tahsildar had acted as per the instructions received by the concerned District Collector. However, the Court was not satisfied with the arguments and said that only the Joint Collector should seize the theatres if any violations were found.
The theatre owner who had knocked on the doors of the Andhra Pradesh High Court got a major sigh of relief as the Court issued directives saying that the theatre should be reopened and the theatre can run the business as the license renewal issue is still pending with the concerned officials.
The seizure of the theatres has been going on in the state since the Andhra Pradesh government issued a Government Order to regulate movie ticket prices. The government is saying that the decision was taken to make the ticket prices available for the common people.
While regulating the movie ticket prices across the establishments, the government is also looking at other aspects like prices of food items and the facilities offered there. If any violations were found, the authorities are not shying away from slapping the theatre establishments with seizure orders.