Chennai: Actor Rajinikanth’s daughter Aishwarya has moved the Madras high court challenging a criminal complaint filed against her in a magistrate court for failing to display disclaimers against smoking in Tamil movie ‘VIP’ starring Danush released in 2014.
Admitting the plea, Justice N Sathish Kumar dispensed with the appearance of Aishwarya before the magistrate on July 15 and posted the case for final hearing on August 10.
According to the petitioner, the complaint filed against her under the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production Supply and Distribution) Act, is not maintainable as the provisions are applicable only for advertisements by manufacturers, suppliers or distributors of tobacco products. None of the provisions can be used against the producer of a film or the artists therein unless the alleged scene was an advertisement for a tobacco product. The depiction of a person smoking in a cinema requires a health disclaimer as a part of censorship regulations. Such disclaimers having been put the prosecution launched by the committee is wholly unsustainable, advocate Vijayan Subramanian said representing the petitioner.
Even the IPC does not contain any provision for attaching vicarious liability on the part of the managing director or the directors of a company when the accused is the company, he said.
Pointing out a note issued by the committee dated February 10, she submitted the note stated that the film titled 'VlP" was released on July 18, 2014 had violated the relevant provisions of COTPA and it has been proven for violation on Section 5 and action recommended to be initiated under Section 22 of the act.
It is submitted that the said order is a non-speaking order and the same is not in accordance with law and the said order is passed without any application of mind. Based on the said order, the present complaint has been filed against the petitioner. For this, the complaint has to be quashed, she said.
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