If you have any grand plans of watching the Indian Premiere League (IPL) T-20 matches on the big screen, you can forget it if your favourite restaurant or mall there doesn’t have permission.

The permission has to be got from distributors holding exclusive live telecast rights for the matches starting March 12.

The Bombay high court on Thursday restrained Shabri Chinese Restaurant in Thane from screening the matches live unless it sought a licence from DGS distribution and e-Solutions Private Limited (DGSDEPL), that had moved court on the issue. Granting a temporary injunction, Justice Anoop Mohta said the restaurant cannot telecast the IPL T-20 matches live until the court decides the case finally.

“The order has been passed restraining only one restaurant, but if we find anybody telecasting matches without permission, we can give its copy to the police and seek action against those telecasting the matches unauthorisedly,” said Godfrey Pimenta, advocate forDGSDEPL, the plaintiffs.

Arguing for the plaintiffs, senior counsel Janak Dwarkadas told the court that as per an agreement of March 4, 2010, with Value Media Limited (VML), the distributors of IPL T-20 matches in India, they hold the exclusive rights for marketing IPL T-20 matches for public places and commercial establishments such as bars,
restaurants and malls in Mumbai and Thane. No public venue, they said, can exhibit these matches without the necessary licence from them.

DGSDEPL contended that if Shabri Chinese Restaurant was not restrained from telecasting the matches it would lead to a loss of Rs1 lakh to them as they have paid the necessary considerations to VML. The expenses incurred by DGSDEPL for live telecast of the match was Rs50,000 for 10 matches and Rs1.20 lakh as rental charges for hiring projectors and telecast equipment from VML.

The court has passed an interim order prohibiting Shabri Chinese Restaurant from screening matches.