The Bombay High Court has requested an explanation from the Cine and Television Artistes Association (CINTAA) regarding its decision to conduct elections and announce the results, even after previous court orders were issued. This development comes after a contempt petition was filed by the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), which claims that CINTAA has ignored judicial directives.
On October 22, Justice Aarti Sathe issued a show cause notice to CINTAA, indicating that there might be a strong case for willful disobedience and a breach of previous agreements. The court has also prohibited the association from acting on the election results that were declared on October 20, 2026.
The FWICE petition argues that CINTAA failed to follow the instructions given by the Bombay High Court on September 11 and October 19. These earlier orders mandated that all parties involved refrain from taking any actions that could interfere with the court’s guidance while a Notice of Motion was pending before the trial court.
Despite these restrictions, CINTAA proceeded with its election process and made the results public, leading FWICE to seek legal action for this non-compliance. The federation was represented by lawyers Saveena Bedi Sachar and Ashok Shetty.
The show cause notice is part of the Contempt of Courts (Bombay High Court Rules, 1994) and requires CINTAA to clarify why contempt proceedings under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, should not be initiated against them. The issues at hand involve alleged disregard for prior court orders and potential willful violations of commitments made to the court.
As it stands, CINTAA is unable to act on the October 20 election results due to the court’s directive. The notice gives the association a chance to respond to the claims; however, a final decision on the contempt petition has yet to be reached.
The case is set to be reviewed again by the Bombay High Court on November 18, 2026.
