The court emphasized the validity of the District Magistrate's discretion in granting the 'no objection certificate' and the authority of the Additional District Magistrate to exercise concurrent powers in the matter.

( 1 ) THE petitioner who is manager of Shivaji Talkies, Hunsur, has filed this writ petition on 22-11-1969, praying that the order dated 11-11-1969 made by the first respondent who was described as the District Magistrate and the licensing Authority, Mysore District, Mysore, be quashed, and, for the issue of a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ directing the first respondent not to issue any licence to the second-respondent. Later, the petitioner filed an application on 29-11-1969 seeking further relief? praying that "no Objection Certificate' granted by the Additional district Magistrate and the Licensing Authority be quashed, and, for the issue of a direction that the licence issued by the Additional District magistrate and the Licensing Authority also be quashed. The petitioner was permitted to amend his earlier application so as to be in accordance with the second application made on 29-11-1969. So that, the question before us relates to the validity of the grant of the no-objection certificate and the licence granted by the first respondent, the Additional District magistrate and the Licensing Authority.

( 2 ) ON 3rd September 1969, the first respondent published a notice under rule 7b of the Mysore Cinematograph Rules, 1946 (hereinafter called the rules), inviting objections for the grant of a "no objection certificate" in favour of the second respondent for the location of a touring cinema at hunsur town of Mysore District on the Municipal site called 'muneswara kaval Land'. Several objections were filed before 18-9-1969, the notified date. One of the objectors was Sivabhusana Mudaliar and a copy of his objection petition is marked in this petition as Ext. B dated 13-9-1969. The other one was under Ext. D by P. R. Venkataramaiah, which is also dated 13-9-1969. The petitioner also filed his objections on 12-9-1969, copy of which is marked as Ext. E. Except the petitioner, the other objectors withdrew their objections.

( 3 ) FROM the records made available to us by the learned High Court government Pleader and pertaining to the grant of the 'no objection certificate' in favour of the second respondent which has been challenged in this writ petition, it is found that an order is made on 10-11-1969 in the following terms :"in view of the facts now reported, the camp is allotted to M/s. Girijashankar Touring Talkies and ADM, may- take further action. "

( 4 ) IT may be mentioned here that the District Magistrate has passed this order after he received the communication from the Town Municipal council, Hunsur, dated 7th November 1969, in response to his letter dated 6-11-69. By this communication of 7th November 1969, the first respondent was informed that all the Councillors who were present at the meeting held on 24-10-1969 have unanimously resolved that the Municipal land in muneswara Kaval may be allotted to the second respondent to run the cinema. It is only subsequent to this that the 'no objection certificate'-Ext. G was granted by the first respondent. It is mentioned by the petitioner that subsequently a licence has been granted in favour of the second respondent. No copy of the said licence or the order on the basis of which such licence has been granted is produced before us. Several grounds of objections have been taken by the petitioner in support of his contention that the first respondent should not have granted the no objection certificate to the second respondent. A preliminary objection has been taken by the Counsel appearing for the respondents against the petitioner being permitted to raise all the objections that he has set out in the affidavit filed in support of his petition. It is contended by them that it is not open to the petitioner to raise any contention other than those incorporated in the objections filed by him before the District Magistrate in response to the notification calling for objections. As mentioned earlier, a copy of the objection petition filed by the petitioner is marked

Click Here to Read the rest of this document