The Gujarat High Court has asked the District Collector to explain why he did not comply with the court order to remove the seal of a theatre. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice K S Radhakrishnan and Justice A S Dave pronounced the order on Thursday while acting on a petition by the owners of Shital Threatre against the District Collector.

According to the details of the case, the District Collector had sealed the theatre on grounds that it had allegedly screened an un-censored obscene movie in place of a censored one. The theatre owner had moved the HC with a prayer to remove the seal.

Following an undertaking by the theatre owners, the HC ordered for removing the seal while quashing the Collector’s order. The HC placed a condition that the theatre owners will give an undertaking to the District Collector’s office too in this regard.

Chinmay Gandhi, the lawyer of the owners of Shital Theatre said: “But after removing the seal, the Collector’s office re-sealed it saying the undertaking we filed was improper. On October 9, the division bench ordered the District Collector to remove the seal, but they did not comply. The court then asked the District Collector to open the theatre in two days, and when they again failed to comply, it ordered the District Collector to explain the non-compliance.”

He said the court has asked them to remove the seal on their own.