The office of the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that the Centre has instructed it to withdraw a notification issued in 2015 by which licences to cinema halls were to be granted by Deputy Commissioners of Revenue Department and not the police.
The matter assumes importance for two reasons.
Firstly, it pertains to the tussle between the L-G and the ruling dispensation in Delhi with regard to administrative control of the national capital.
Secondly, under the notification, licences were to be granted by the Deputy Commissioners on the recommendation of a nodal agency and not by the Licensing Department of the Delhi Police.
In an affidavit placed before a Bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V.K. Rao, the office of L-G Anil Baijal has said that the Ministry of Home Affairs had sent a letter on January 1, 2019, asking it to withdraw the notification, which was issued in 2015 and challenged in the High Court by an association representing cinema hall owners in the national capital.
The affidavit also said the MHA’s decision was communicated by the L-G’s office to the Chief Secretary of Delhi on January 9, 2019, to take necessary action.
The letter dated January 1, 2019, issued to the L-G’s office by the MHA said the Ministry after obtaining the legal opinion of two senior law officers has decided that the notification of January 9, 2015, be withdrawn.
The Association of the Victims of Uphaar Tragedy, represented by senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, said withdrawal of the notification was contrary to the law. The Delhi government said it will be filing an affidavit on the issue as soon as it is cleared by its law department.