The fatal incident of the ‘Pushpa 2’ stampede case that transpired in December has affected a major decision of the Telangana High Court. For the unversed, during the film’s premiere in Sandhya Theatre, a woman met her unfortunate demise. On the other hand, her eight-year-old son required hospitalisation. Now, during a petition hearing, the Telangana HC restricted the entry timings in theatres for children below 16.
On Monday, the court heard the petitions regarding the enhancement of ticket prices of Ram Charan’s ‘Game Changer’ and others. During the hearing, the Telangana HC issued a directon to the state government and cinemas. It asked them not to permit children below 16 years to enter the cinemas before 11 am and after 11 pm.
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After hearing the arguments put forward by the petitioners’ lawyer, Justice Vijaysen Reddy made the decision. He stated that children below the age of 16 shouldn’t be watching films so early in the day and so late in the night. He cited the Cinematography Act rules that did not allow children to watch shows in the morning and night. The court cited the ‘Pushpa 2’ stampede incident as an example to support the argument.
Subsequently, The HC urged the Telangana government to regulate the entry of children into the theatres. The court asked for a proper discussion with all the stakeholders. The court encouraged the discussion to decide the course of action to ensure the imposition of the restrictions. It said, “Till such decision is taken, the respondents shall not allow children below 16 years to watch movies after 11 pm.”
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Moreover, another argument concerning health made way to the court. It was argued that watching films in theatres at odd hours could prove detrimental to the mental and physical health of children. The court noted the concerns. It acknowledged that there is a need to ensure considerable restrictions on the screen time of children. Moving ahead, the High Court has postponed the hearing of the case to February 22.
