Madras High Court today dismissed a petition filed by Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners' Association praying for quashing the proceedings initiated against it by the Competition Commission of India over its alleged refusal to screen Kamal Haasan starrer 'Vishwaroopam' in January.
Justice K K Sasidharan, dismissing the petition, observed that the Director General of CCI was yet to take up the investigation and the court cannot interfere at this stage.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has initiated proceedings against the exhibitors under section 26(1) of the Competition Act on a complaint by Raajkamal International, a production house owned by Kamal Haasan that the Association has passed a resolution not to screen his film 'Vishwaroopam'.
Challenging the proceedings, the Exhibitors Association in its petition submitted that it passed no such resolution and the resolution furnished to the commission was a forged one.
The petitioner also submitted that it has lodged a complaint with the City Police Commissioner seeking a probe into the issue and registration of an FIR for forgery of the resolution on a copy of which the CCI launched proceedings against the association.
Justice Sasidharan observed that the CCI Director General, who is a responsible officer appointed by the government, will go into the facts and look into the copy of the resolution furnished by the production company about the genuineness of the same.
The court refused to direct the police to register an FIR on the complaint by the Association and asked it to submit their grievances before the CCI.
The film was banned in Tamil Nadu after some Muslim outfits raised objections about portrayal of the community. After the actor reached an agreement with the Muslim outfits, the film was released.
