The Himachal Pradesh Cinemas (Regulation) Act, 1979

THE HIMACHAL PRADESH CINEMAS (REGULATION) ACT, 1979 
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 
Sections: 
1.  Short title, extent and commencement. 
2.  Definitions. 
3.  Cinematograph exhibitions to be licensed. 
4.  Licensing authority 
5.  Restrictions on powers of licensing authority 
6.  Power of the Government or local authority to suspend 
exhibition of films in certain cases. 
7.  Penalties. 
8.  Power to suspend, cancel or revoke licence. 
9.  Power to make rules. 
10.  Power to exempt. 
11.  Repeal and savings. 
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THE HIMACHAL PRADESH CINEMAS (REGULATION) ACT, 1979 
(ACT NO. 4 OF 1979) 1 
(Received the assent of the Governor, Himachal Prad esh on 1 st May, 
1979 and was published in the Rajpatra, Himachal Pr adesh (Extra-ordinary), 
dated the 7 th  May, 1979,  pp. 1705-1711). 
An Act to make provisions for regulating exhibition s by means of 
cinematographs in Himachal Pradesh. 
B
E it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of Himachal Pradesh in the 
Thirtieth Year of the Republic of India as follows:- 
1. Short title, extent and commencement.- (1) This Act may be 
called the Himachal Pradesh Cinemas (Regulation) Act, 1979. 
(2) It extends to the whole of Himachal Pradesh. 
(3) This Act shall come into force on such date as the Government 
may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint. 
2. Definitions.- In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the 
subject or context,- 
(a) "cinematograph" includes any apparatus for the representation 
                                                 
1. For Statement of Objects and Reasons, see the Ra jpatra, Himachal Pradesh 
(Extra-ordinary), dated 7 th  April, 1979, p. 1210. 
THE HIMACHAL PRADESHCINEMAS (REGULATION) ACT, 1979  2 
of moving pictures or series of pictures; 
(b)  "Government" means the Government of Himachal Pradesh; 
(c)  "notification" means notification published un der proper 
authority in the Official Gazette; 
(d)  "Official Gazette" means the Rajpatra, Himacha l Pradesh; 
(e)  "place" includes a house, building, tent and a ny description of 
transport, whether by sea, land or air; 
(f)  "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made un der this Act. 
3. Cinematograph exhibitions to be licensed.- Save as otherwise 
provided in this Act, no person shall give an exhib ition, by means of a 
cinematograph, elsewhere than in a place licensed under this Act or otherwise 
than in compliance with any conditions and restrict ions imposed by such 
licence. 
4. Licensing authority.- The authority having power to grant licences 
under this Act (hereinafter referred to as the lice nsing authority) shall be the 
District Magistrate: 
Provided that the Government may, by notification i n the Official 
Gazette, constitute for the whole or any part of Hi machal Pradesh, such other 
authority as it may specify therein, to be the lice nsing authority for the 
purposes of this Act. 
5. Restrictions on powers of licensing authority.- (1) The licensing 
authority shall not grant a licence under this Act unless it is satisfied that- 
(a)  the rules made under this Act have been compli ed with, and 
(b)  adequate precautions have been taken in the pl ace in respect 
of which the licence is to be given to provide for the safety of 
the persons attending exhibitions therein. 
(2) Subject to the foregoing provisions of this sec tion and to the 
control of the Government, the licensing authority may grant licences under 
this Act to such persons as it thinks fit, on payme nt of such fees and on such 
terms and conditions and subject to such restrictio ns as may be prescribed or 
may, after recording in writing its reasons therefo r, refuse to grant any such 
licence. 
(3) Any person aggrieved by an order of the licensi ng authority 
refusing to grant a licence under this Act may, wit hin such time as may be 
prescribed, appeal to the Government or to such off icer as the Government 
may specify in this behalf and the Government or th e officer, as the case may 
be, may make such order in the case as it or he thinks fit. 
(4) The Government may, from time to time, issue di rections to 
licensees generally or to any licensee in particula r for the purpose of 
regulating the exhibition of any film or class of f ilms, so that scientific films, 
films intended for educational purposes, films deal ing with news and current 
 THE HIMACHAL PRADESHCINEMAS (REGULATION) ACT, 1979  3 
events, documentary films or indigenous films secure an adequate opportunity 
of being exhibited, and where any such directions h ave been issued, those 
directions shall be deemed to be additional conditi ons and restrictions subject 
to which the licence has been granted. 
6. Power of the Government or local authority to su spend 
exhibition of films in certain cases.- (1) The Government in respect of the 
whole of Himachal Pradesh or any part thereof, and the District Magistrate, in 
respect of the district within his jurisdiction, ma y, if it or he, as the case may 
be, is of the opinion that any film which is being publically exhibited is likely 
to cause a breach of peace, by order, suspend the e xhibition of the film and 
during such suspension the film shall be deemed to be uncertified film in 
Himachal Pradesh, part of Himachal Pradesh or district, as the case may be. 
(2) Where an order under sub-section (1) has been issued by a District 
Magistrate, a copy thereof, together with a statement of reasons therefor, shall 
forthwith be forwarded by the District Magistrate t o the Government, and the 
Government may either confirm or rescind the order. 
(3) An order made under this section shall remain i n force for aperiod 
of two months from the date thereof, but the Govern ment may, if it is of 
opinion that the order should continue in force, di rect that the period of 
suspension shall be extended by such further period as it thinks fit. 
7. Penalties.-If the owner or person incharge of a cinematograph uses 
the same or allows it to be used, or if the owner o r occupier of any place 
permits that place to be used in contravention of t he provisions of this Act or 
of the rules made thereunder, or of the conditions and restrictions upon or 
subject to which any licence has been granted under  this Act, he, as well as 
the manager, servants or agents of the person to wh om the licence is granted, 
shall be guilty of an offence; and shall, on convic tion, be punished with fine 
which may extend to one thousand rupees and, in the  case of a continuing 
offence, with a further fine which may extend to on e hundred rupees for each 
day during which the offence continues : 
Provided that, a person to whom a licence is grante d shall not be 
guilty of an offence as aforesaid, if he proves tha t any offence committed by 
any person in his employ or on his behalf took place without his knowledge or 
consent, and that the employee or agent was not act ing with his express or 
implied permission, and that he exercised all due d iligence to prevent the 
commission of the offence or its continuation. 
8. Power to suspend, cancel or revoke licence.- (1) Notwithstanding 
anything contained in this Act, the Government or the licensing authority may 
at any time suspend, cancel or revoke a licence granted under section 5 on one 
or more of the following grounds, namely:- 
(a)  the licence was obtained through fraud or misr epresentation; 
(b)  the licensee has committed a breach of any of the provisions 
of this Act or the rules made thereunder or of any condition or 
restriction contained in the licence, or of any dir ection issued 
THE HIMACHAL PRADESHCINEMAS (REGULATION) ACT, 1979  4 
under sub-section (4) of section 5; 
(c)  on account of any changes occurring in the loc ality of the 
place licensed, the continuance of the licence is c onsidered 
prejudicial to decency or morality; 
(d)  the licensee has been convicted of an offence under section 7 
of this Act or section 7 of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 (37 
of 1952) or section 7 of the Punjab Cinemas (Regulation) Act, 
1952 (11 of 1952); 
(e)  the licensee has been convicted for not less t han two times of 
an offence punishable under clause (a) of sub-secti on (1) of 
section 18 of the Himachal Pradesh Entertainments Duty Act, 
1968 (12 of 1968), or has compounded such offence f or not 
less than two times under section 19 of that Act; 
(f)  a penalty under section 17 of the Act referred  to in clause (e) 
has been imposed for not less than two times on the licensee. 
(2) Where the Government or the licensing authority is of the opinion 
that a licence granted under section 5 should be su spended, cancelled or 
revoked, it shall, as soon as may be, communicate t o the licensee the grounds 
on which the action is proposed to be taken and sha ll afford him a reasonable 
opportunity of showing cause against the action proposed to be taken. 
(3) If, after giving such opportunity, the Governme nt or the licensing 
authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the licence should be suspended, 
cancelled or revoked, it shall record an order stat ing therein the ground or 
grounds on which the order is made, and shall commu nicate the same to the 
licensee in writing. 
(4) Where the order suspending, cancelling or revok ing a licence 
under sub-section (3) has been passed by a licensin g authority, any person 
aggrieved by the order may, within thirty days of t he communication of such 
order to him, prefer an appeal to Government which may pass such order as it 
thinks fit. 
(5) The order of the Government shall be final. 
9. Power to make rules.- (1) The Government may, by notification in 
the Official Gazette, make rules- 
(a)  prescribing the procedure in accordance with w hich a licence 
may be obtained and the terms, conditions and restr ictions, if 
any, subject to which licence may be granted under this Act; 
(b)  providing for the regulation of cinematograph exhibitions for 
securing the public safety; 
(c)  prescribing the time within which and the cond itions subject 
to which an appeal under sub-section (3) of section  5 may be 
preferred; 
(d)  regulating the means of entrance and exit at p laces licensed 
 THE HIMACHAL PRADESHCINEMAS (REGULATION) ACT, 1979  5 
under this Act, and providing for prevention of dis turbances 
thereat; 
(e) regulating or prohibiting the sale of any ticke t or pass for 
admission by whatever name called to a place licens ed under 
this Act. 
(2) In making rules under this section the Governme nt may provide 
that any person failing to comply with or contraven ing the provisions of any 
rule shall, on conviction, be punished with fine wh ich may extend to one 
thousand rupees. A failure to comply with, or on co ntravention of the 
provisions of a rule made under clause (e) of sub-s ection (1) shall be a 
cognizable offence within the meaning of the Code o f Criminal Procedure, 
1973 (2 of 1974). 
(3) The power to make rules under this section shal l be subject to the 
condition of previous publication in the Official Gazette. 
(4) Every rule made under this Act shall be laid, a s soon as may be, 
after it is made, before the Legislative Assembly w hile it is in session, for a 
total period of not less than fourteen days which m ay be comprised in one 
session or in two or more successive sessions, and if before the expiry of the 
session in which it is so laid or the sessions afor esaid, the Legislative 
Assembly makes any modification in the rule or deci des that the rule should 
not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form 
or be of no effect, as the case may be, so however,  that any such modification 
or annulment shall be without prejudice to the vali dity of anything previously 
done under that rule. 
10. Power to exempt.- The Government may, by order in writing, 
exempt, subject to such conditions and restrictions  as it may impose any 
cinematograph exhibition or class of cinematograph exhibitions as also the 
premises or site intended to be used for cinematograph exhibition from any of 
the provisions of this Act or of any rules made thereunder. 
11. Repeal and savings.-The Punjab Cinemas (Regulation) Act, 1952 
(11 of 1952) as in force in the territories added t o Himachal Pradesh under 
section 5 of the Punjab Re-organisation Act, 1966 (31 of 1966) and Part-III of 
the Cinematograph Act, 1952 (37 of 1952) in its app lication to the areas 
comprised in Himachal Pradesh immediately before th e 1 st  November, 1966, 
are hereby repealed: 
Provided that anything done or any action taken (in cluding any 
appointment made, notification, order or directive issued, rule framed, any 
licence issued, cancelled, suspended or revoked and  any proceeding 
commenced or continued) shall, in so far as it is not inconsistent with this Act,  
be deemed to have been done or taken under the corr esponding provisions of 
this Act and shall continue to be in force until su perseded by anything 
lawfully done under this Act. 
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