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"i. Food items and soft drinks etc., unpackaged package to be sold by weight or volume.
ii. The weight and volume and the price of the item to be clearly displayed on the display board.
iii. Till 01.09.2018 the food item packaging or the container should contain a sticker of the M.R.P. iv. From 01.09.2018 onwards, it should be printed on the container / package.
v. The Cinema will display the Consumer Helpline toll free number - 180042500333 and Consumer Helpline WhatsApp number - 7330774444.
vi. The Officers will brief the owners to avoid keeping only one brand of water, etc., and given options to the consumer else restrictive practices may be found."

The contentions of the petitioners :

6. Sri S. Niranjan Reddy, Senior Counsel appearing for Ms.Rubaina S. Khatoon, Counsel for petitioners inter alia contended that the Multiplexes which are Members of the petitioner's Association maintain amenities' outlets offering food and beverages to the customers who visit the said Multiplexes for watching movies; these include fast food items and beverages, some of which are 4 MSRJ pre-packaged (such as beverage cans, chips, juice bottles, etc.,); and some of which are in unpackaged form [such as samosas, nachos, sandwiches, burgers, vada pav, kachori, pizza, pasta, chat, frankie, sweet corn, ice creams, beverages such as coffee, tea, and soft drinks which are sold in plastic glasses through fountains (commonly referred to as fountain beverages such as pepsi, coca-cola, etc.,)].
7. He contended that these food items in non-packaged form are served in containers such as paper / plastic plates, paper / plastic glasses, tubs, paper / plastic cups or paper / plastic covers/containers;

some of the items can be customized on the spot for sale according to the preferences of the customer unlike in the case of pre-packaged items; for sale of such items, members of the petitioner have secured requisite licenses under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and also under the local laws of the State; that these unpackaged fast food items and beverages are not subject to Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 which require declaration of price and weight of a pre-packaged commodity on the package of the commodity (Rule 6) and prohibit any retailer from selling any pre- packaged commodity unless the package of such commodity complies with the Act and the above Rules (Rule 18). He contended that Rule 18 has no application to members of the petitioner since they do not manufacture or pack any pre-packaged commodities.

20. It is acknowledged that unpackaged ready to eat items are sold by sale counters in Multiplexes and such items are covered under Rule 26 of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011.

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21. It is contended that the impugned orders are referable to Section 11 of the Act read with Rule 10 and 23(9) of the A.P. Legal Metrology (Enforcement) Rules, 2011 insofar as they cover unpackaged ready to eat items. It is stated that the impugned orders only reiterate what is contained in the Act and the Rules.