Karnataka HC orders stay on fine imposed on PVR Cinemas for delayed start of movie
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Monday stayed the fine imposed by the Bengaluru Urban District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission on PVR Cinemas for delaying the screening of cinemas by playing advertisements and also opined that the Commission order was beyond its jurisdiction limits in certain aspects.
The Commission had issued the order, following a complaint by one Abishek MR in January 2024 that PVR Cinemas had played a movie about 30 minutes later than the scheduled time due to advertisements as a result of which he could not return to office on time. The Commissioner had instructed PVR Cinemas to pay its customer Rs 1.28 as fine, stressing on the need to use time in an effective manner and not waste it.
Justice M Nagaprasanna heard the case on Monday, following a counter complaint being filed by Multiplex Association of India.
Senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi said that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had made it mandatory for movie theatres to screen public awareness videos for five minutes. Stating that showing trailers of other movies and advertisements was a business model, he said that it was ‘normal’ for a movie to start 15-20 minutes later than scheduled and stated that the consumer court had made it mandatory for theatres to print on the ticket the time at which advertisements would start.
Rohatgi also said that the Commission had no power to impose fines on theatres for delayed start of screening of movies.
The HC, hearing the petition, concurred that the Commission had no power to direct theatres on the way a movie should be run, adding that the forum had answered to the petition filed by the complainant forgetting that it lacked jurisdiction powers.
Justice Nagaprasanna passed an interim order of stay on the fine imposed on PVR Cinemas until the next hearing on March 27.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
