7Penalties for contraventions of this Part

¹[(1) If any person--

(a) exhibits or permits to be exhibited in any place--

(i) any film other than a film which has been certified by the board as suitable for unrestricted public exhibition or for public exhibition restricted to adults ²[or to members of any profession or any class of persons] and which, when exhibited, displays the prescribed mark of the Board and has not been altered or tampered with in any way since such mark was affixed thereto,

(ii) any film, which has been certified by the Board as suitable for public exhibition restricted to adults, to any person who is not an adult, ³* * *

²[(iia) any film which has been certified by the Board as suitable for public exhibition restricted to any profession or class of persons, to a person who is not a member of such profession or who is not a member of such class, or]

(b) without lawful authority (the burden of proving which shall be on him), alters or tampers with in any way, any film after it has been certified, or

(c) fails to comply with the provision contained in section 6A or with any order made by the Central Government or by the Board in the exercise of any of the powers or functions conferred on it by this Act or the rules made thereunder,

⁴[he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees, or with both, and in the case of a continuing offence with a further fine which may extend to twenty thousand rupees for each day during which the offence continues:

Provided that a person who exhibits or permits to be exhibited in any place a video film in contravention of the provisions of sub-clause (i) of clause (a) shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three months, but which may extend to three years and with fine which shall not be less than twenty thousand rupees, but which may extend to one lakh rupees, and in the case of a continuing offence with a further fine which may extend to twenty thousand rupees for each day during which the offence continues:

Provided further that a court may, for adequate and special reasons to be mentioned in the judgment, impose a sentence of imprisonment for a term of less than three months, or a fine of less than twenty thousand rupees:]

⁴[Provided further that] notwithstanding anything contained in section 29 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), it shall be lawful for any Metropolitan Magistrate, or any Judicial Magistrate of the first class specially empowered by the State Government in this behalf, to pass a sentence of fine exceeding five thousand rupees on any person convicted of any offence punishable under this Part:

⁴[Provided also that no distributor or exhibitor or owner or employee of a cinema house shall be liable to punishment for contravention of any condition of endorsement of caution on a film certified as "UA" under this Part.]

(2) If any person is convicted of an offence punishable under this section committed by him in respect of any film, the convicting court may further direct that the film shall be forfeited to the Government.

(3) The exhibition of a film, in respect of which an "A" certificate ⁵[or a "S" certificate or a "UA" certificate] has been granted, to children below the age of three years accompanying their parents or guardians shall not be deemed to be an offence within the meaning of this section.