mumbai video parlour owners are challenging police action in seizing televisions and video players from those parlours which possess pirated video cassettes the police which is engaged in a crackdown on rising video piracy claim there are no restrictions on them from seizing equipmentthis issue is up for a final hearing matter in the bombay high court a large bunch of petitions challenging seizure of tv sets and other equipment along with pirated video cassettes were partly heard in the hc before the christmas vacation and will again be up for hearing once courts resume on january 7in 1998 an adinterim stay was granted by the high court on seizure of tv sets and other equipment a petition was filed by n mohammed mustafa who runs amitabh video centre near barkhatali dargah road wadala e challenging the seizuremustafas argument is that video technology has offered new vistas of selfemployment and as a result the city is dotted with video parlours where entertainment comes cheap the owners of such parlours are granted licences under rules framed by the state government for video cinema parlours and registered with the district collector they have to pay entertainment dutypolice on suspicion or after receiving tip offs that a parlour is showing pirated casettes have seized not only the cassettes but also the tv and vcr video projectors video compact discs laser discs audio music systems amplifiers wires original censored video cassettes posters and even the furniture at times parlour owners submit that the police should seize only the pirated cassettesbut justifying the police action additional public prosecutor kiran kapoor notes that under section 102 of the criminal procedure code a police officer may seize any property which may be alleged or suspected to have been stolen or which may be suspected to be used in commission of any offence mr kapoor argues that the tv and vcr sets are used to play the pirated cassettes and hence they have to be seized mr kapoor also notes that a large number of video parlours screen pornographic films which spoil the moral fabric of the countrys youth every attempt to curb the proliferation of such activities should be encouraged he saysbut the maharashtra video theatre owners association have argued that the crpc makes it clear that the police have power to only seize stolen property the association notes that when parlour owners are carrying on legitimate business after having obtained the necessary licence from the state the police are not entitled to seize all their equipmentinterestingly video parlour owners do not deny that pirated video cassettes are sometimes shown in their parlours which usually have a capacity to seat 30 persons or it is shown through the local cable tv operator their contention is that the police should act only in response to a complaint filed by a person who has the films copyrights and that what can be seized is only the pirated cassettethe judgment which is awaited will be important in dealing with the