PART I-A
GENERAL 1. These rules may be called the Tamil Nadu Cinemas (Regulation) Rules, 1957. 2.
(1) These rules shall apply to all the existing cinema premises in the State of Tamil Nadu and to those which come into existence after the publication of these rules in the Fort St. George
Gazette.1 2(2) These rules shall apply to all cinema premises in the Kanyakumari District and the Shencottah taluk of the Tirunelveli District existing on the 5th March 1958 and those which come into existence after the said date. 3(3) These rules shall also apply to all cinema premises in the territories specified in the Second Schedule to the Andhra Pradesh
and Tamil Nadu (Alteration of Boundaries) Act, 1959 (Central Act 56 of 1959) and to those which come into existence after the 20th February 1963. 3. In these rules, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context- (a) "Act" means the Tamil Nadu Cinemas (Regulation) Act, 1955 (Tamil Nadu Act IX of 1955); (b) [Omitted by G.O.Ms. No. 903, dated the 25th March 1980]; (c) "auditorium" means the portion of licensed place in which accommodation is provided for the public to view the cinematograph exhibition; (d) "Central Film Advisory Board" means the Film Advisory Board constituted under the resolution of the Government of India in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting No. 1/51/54-F, dated the 2nd February 1955; (e) "enclosure" means the portion of the licensed place in which cinematograph apparatus is erected; (f) "Form" means form annexed to these rules; (g) "local authority" means- (i)
4(a) in the City of 5[Chennai], the Council of the Municipal Corporation of 5[Chennai]; 6(b) in the city of
Madurai, the Municipal Council of the Municipal Corporation of Madurai; (ii) in an area in a District, the Municipal Council or the Township Committee or the Panchayat Union Council having the jurisdiction over the area: Provided that where there is no Panchayat functioning, the Panchayat Union Council having the jurisdiction over the area shall be deemed to be the Local authority; (h) "permanent building" means a building which is constructed for permanent use with stone
7[. . .] brick, mortar, cement or other non-inflammable material. Explanation.-Where the floor, roof, side walls, galleries and staircases of a building are made of non-inflammable materials, the building shall, for the purpose of these rules, be deemed to be a permanent building; and (i) "temporary building" means a building which is not a permanent building. 4. If any question arises as to the interpretation of these rules otherwise than in connection with the prosecution for an offence, the question shall be referred to the Government whose decision thereon shall be final. 5.
8(1) The rules in Parts I-A, IV, V, VI and VII and Forms C, D, E and F printed in large type, together with the name and address of the licensee affixed thereto, shall be kept during public entertainment always pasted in some conspicuous place at the principal entrance at a height of not more than 1.25 metres from the floor so that any person entering the licensed premises may acquaint himself with such rules and, on noticing any breach of them may report the same to the licensing authority.
9(2) A copy of the Cinema Operator's Manual published by the Board of Examiners for Cinema Operators constituted by the Government shall be kept in the licensed premises. 6. No person other than company or association shall be entitled to obtain or hold any licence under the Act
10[or a no objection certificate under these rules] unless such person has attained the age of 20 years. 7. The licensee shall comply with such of the provisions of the Indian Electricity Act, 1910 (Central Act of
1910)11, and of the rules made there under as are applicable to the premises. In cases where the notice referred to in section 30 of the said Act has to be given to the District Collector or the Commissioner of Police, no licence shall be granted until such notice has been given and the
licensing authority has informed the 12[Electrical Inspector] or the decision to issue the
licence. 8. Any Police Officer not below the rank of a Sub-Inspector, any Fire Officers not below the rank of a
13[Station Officer, any Health Officer] 14[or Sanitary Officer, the Commissioner of the Corporation of
15[Chennai], or Assistant Commissioners or Assistant Health Officer of the Corporation of
15[Chennai], Municipal Commissioners, Executive Officers of Townships], any Magistrate having jurisdiction over the area, the
12[Electrical Inspector] or his representative 16[not below the rank of Junior Electrical Inspector], the licensing authority or his representative and the
17[Public Works Department Authority concerned], or any person authorised by
him,18[an officer of the Directorate of Information and Public Relations not below the rank of an Information and Public Relations Officer] may enter at any time any place licensed or proposed to be licensed under the Act for the purpose of satisfying himself that the provisions of the Act and the rules there under are carried out correctly by the license. 19[In cases where any defect is pointed out by the Chief Electrical Inspector or his representatives, it should be got rectified by the licensee within a reasonable time and the licensing authority should not renew the licence in such cases unless the defects are rectified]. In case of any breach, the inspecting authorities should draw the attention of the licensing authority for necessary action. 20[. . .] 9. The licence and the plan and description attached thereto shall be produced on demand by any police officer not below the rank of a Sub-Inspector or by the licensing authority or by the
Chief Electrical Inspector 21[. . .] or by any persons authorised by them in this behalf
22[or by the Public Works Department Authority concerned.] 10. The licensee, his servants and agents shall comply with all orders issued by the Chief Electrical Inspector, the licensing authority or police officers acting on their behalf, from time to time, or as occasion arises for the safety or convenience of the public or for the preservation of order or the maintenance of peace. The licensing authority may, if circumstances so require, impose safeguards for the purpose in addition to those laid down in these rules. 11.
23[(1) The enclosure shall be in-charge of an operator holding a licence in Form "G" granted under, and in accordance with, the regulations in Appendix II by the Chief Electrical Inspector on the strength of a competency certificate in Form "H" issued under, and in accordance, with the regulations in Appendix III by the Board of Examiners constituted by the Government.] 24[The Operator shall be present in the enclosure during the whole period of operation of the machine.] There shall be two licensed cinema operators in each of the permanent and semi permanent theatres exhibiting a minimum of three shows per day and in the case of a permanent or semi-permanent theatre, which exhibits more than four shows per day the number of licensed operators shall be three. 25It would be sufficient to have two operators in theatres running four shows per day. (2) The operator shall satisfy himself before the commencement of each performance that all cables, leads, connections and resistances as also the fire extinguishing appliances in the enclosure are in good working order. (3) Such number of persons as may be necessary shall be specially appointed to be in-charge of the fire-extinguishing appliances in the auditorium during every performance. 26[Such persons need not be employed exclusively for looking after the fire appliances, but they must not be given any other work during an exhibition which would take them away from the building or otherwise prevent them from being immediately available in case of danger or alarm of fire. The person so appointed shall wear a badge on his arm depicting the word "FIRE" during the exhibition.] (4) The licensee shall report to the Chief Electrical Inspector the name and licence number of the operator together with his letter of consent and any change in personnel. Note.- This rule shall not apply to the cinema operators in Kanyakumari District and Senkottah taluk of the Tirunelveli district who were in service on or before the 5th March 1958 and shall apply only to the operators employed after that date. 12.
(1) Smoking shall not be permitted within the enclosure or within the auditorium. (2) No unauthorized person shall be allowed to enter the enclosure. (3) No inflammable article shall, unnecessarily, be taken into, or allowed to, remain in the enclosure. 27(4) The licensee shall keep the cinema buildings and equipment insured against the risk of fire so that the cinema theatre in run without fire hazards. 28(5) The licensee shall put up at prominent places in, and immediately outside, any projection or rewinding room or in any room in which the films is stored or in which electrical batteries are installed or charged, notice indicating that "smoking" is strictly prohibited. 13.
(1) If the applicant for the licence is the owner of the site, building and equipment, he shall produce to the licensing authority the necessary records relating to his ownership and possession thereof. If he is not the owner, he shall, to the satisfaction of the licensing authority, produce documentary evidence to show that he is in lawful possession of the site, building and equipment. (2) If the land for which the applicant requires a no objection certificate is under the jurisdiction of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, the licensee shall produce to the licensing authority along with his application a letter of permission from the Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments,
29[Chennai] specifically permitting the leasing out of the land to the applicant. In the absence of such a letter of prior permission, the licensing authority shall reject the application for no objection certificate. The possession of the lessee after the expiry of the lease as such was not either under any subsisting contract of lease or under any lease coming within the purview of the Tamil Nadu Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1960. Therefore, the possession of the lessee after the expiry of the lease was not lawful possession and consequently he had not satisfied the requirement of rule 13 of the Tamil Nadu Cinemas (Regulation) Rules, 1957 and he was not entitled to have the 'C Form licence granted by the Collector for running the cinema business in the building. 14.
30(1) There shall be no restriction in the grant of licence to permanent and traveling cinemas on the basis of population. (2) The restrictions in respect of distance between cinemas shall be as specified below:- (a) A travelling cinema in any place shall not be allowed with in a distance of
[1.609]31 km of the nearest permanent cinema located in the same local area or in the adjacent local area. Explanation.-For the purpose of this clause "local area" means the area within in the jurisdiction of a local authority: Provided that the Government may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, permit a traveling cinema within the distance specified in this clause from the nearest permanent cinema: Provided further that a traveling cinema may be allowed to, complete its full term of five years even if a permanent cinema comes up within the distance specified in this clause; (b) The distance between any two traveling cinemas shall not be less than 0.402 km: Provided that the Government may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, permit a traveling cinema within the distance specified in this clause from the nearest traveling cinema. (c) There shall be no restriction in regard to the distance between one permanent cinema and another permanent cinema. (3) The distance between cinemas in any place or in adjacent places shall be reckoned along the shortest pathway, lane, street, road or any other route connecting the cinemas which is generally used by the members of the public. 32(4) The distance between any two cinemas shall be reckoned from the cabin room of one cinema to the cabin room of another. The shortest pathway referred to in rule 14(3) would not comprehend a pathway used by the public which would invariably result in trespass over public or private property. As Courts of law, administering law in its strict sense, could not make exception to well-known principles that no one could be licensed or permitted to trespass on other properties, whether public or private, it would be a travesty if the Court held that the distance in this case had to be measured not by the usual general pathway, which would be by going around the station, but by the pathway which the public were using by committing unadulterated trespass on public property. As a matter of fact, the competent authorities had expressed the view that the distance between the existing touring cinema theatre and the proposed touring cinema, if measured along a pathway which was generally used by the public and which did not involve a trespass on railway line, would not offend the rule of distance. The effect of rule 14(2) is that the minimum differene between the touring cinema and permanent cinema, whether it is in the same village or in the town, has to be 1.609 km while the distance between any two touring cinemas has to be 0.402 km or more. 33
14-A. (1) An applicant for the licence or the licensee may apply to the licensing authority for exemption of any of the provisions of the Act or any provisions of these rules. (2) A fee of
34[Rs. 7,500 (Rupees seven thousand and five hundred only)] for permanent and semi-permanent theatres and fee of
[Rs. 4,000 (Rupees four thousand only)] for traveling cinemas shall be paid and a Treasury receipt for the amount of the fee shall also be submitted along with the application. (3) On receipt of such application, the licensing authority shall send the report in Form "A" for exemption from any of the provisions of the Act or any of these rules. PROCEDURE FOR APPROVAL OF FILMS
3516.
The Director of Information and Public Relation, Tamil Nadu shall be the advising authority for the purposes of advising the Government in the matter of approval of films under section 6 of the Act. 17-25.
[Omitted by G.O.Ms. No. 903, Home, dated the 25th March 1980.] 26.
Such films as have been or may be approved by the Central Government to be scientific films, films intended for educational purposes, films dealing with news and current events or documentary films for the purpose of directions under sub-section (4) of section 12 of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 (Central Act XXXVII of 1952), and corresponding provisions in other State Cinemas (Regulation) Acts are hereby declared to be films approved by the Government within the meaning of section 6 of the Act and rules 27 to 34 shall not apply to such films. 3627. Any person, firm, organisation or Government desirous of having any of his, its/or their films approved by the Government of Tamil Nadu under section 6 of the Act shall send an application in writing to the Director of Information and Public Relations, Tamil Nadu stating the titles of the film and the source from which it can be obtained by exhibitors and such other particulars as may be required by the Director of Information and Public Relations and shall also produce a copy of the film and shall arrange to exhibit the film before the Director of Information and Public Relations at
37[Chennai] on the date and time to be fixed by the said Director. Every such application shall be accompanied by the fee prescribed in these rules. 3628. On receipt of such application, the Director of Information and Public Relations shall examine the said film with a view to determining whether it could be approved by the Government under section 6 of the Act. If the applicant desires to make any representation in regard to the film submitted by him, the Director of Information and Public Relations shall give him an opportunity to do so at this stage. Such representation shall be in writing and shall be taken into consideration by the Director of Information and Public Relations in making his recommendation to the Government. 3629. The Director of Information and Public Relations shall forward to the Government, within five days after the examination of the film under rule 28, his recommendation as to whether the film may be approved by the Government under section 6 of the Act. If after considering the recommendation of the Director of Information and Public Relations and after making such enquiry as it deem fit, the Government decide to approve the film, it shall
notify the title of the film, in the Gazette together with the address of the person, firm, organisation or other Government with whom the cinema licensees can enter into agreement for the supply of the film: Provided that the Government shall not approve any film that has not been certified as suitable for exhibition by the Central Board of Film Censors under the Cinematograph Act, 1952 (Central Act XXXVII of 1952). 30.
A fee of rupees five shall be charged for the examination of every 38[300
metres] of film or fraction thereof. 31. Examination and approval of duplicates of films previously approved shall not be necessary if it can be shown by the theme and the cast that the second films is identical with the first. 32. If any film is altered by excision, addition or otherwise, after it has been approved by the Government, it shall cease to be an approved film unless it has been re-examined by the
39[Director of Information and Public Relations] and approved by the Government in accordance with these rules. The fee for such reexamination shall be the same as that laid down in rule 30 for the examination of films. 33.
39[The Director of Information and Public Relations] shall maintain a register in which the following particulars shall be entered, namely:- (a) the name of every film examined; (b) the name of the person applying for approval; (c) the name of the person or company producing and releasing the film; (d) the name of the country in which the film was originally produced; (e) the date of examination; (f) the length of the film in
40[metres], the number of reels and the length of each reel in
40[metres]; (g) remarks of the
39[Director of Information and Public Relations] on such examination; and (h) the number and date of the notification published in the Gazette conveying approval of the Government. 34.
41[The Director of Information and Public Relations or any officer
authorized by him not below the rank of a Public Relation Officer] or any Police Officer not below the rank of Sub-Inspector may enter any place licensed under the Act for the purpose of seeing that the provisions of the rules in this Part are being carried out.
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