Colors TV moves court against 'Bigg Boss' ouster from Lonavala

Mumbai, Oct 22 (IANS) The Colors TV channel Friday moved the Bombay High Court against the Lonavala Municipal Council's (LMC) eviction orders to its reality show 'Bigg Boss-4'.

A channel spokesperson said a writ petition has been filed with the Bombay High Court after the civic council's CEO Yogesh Godse served it a notice to stop the shooting of the show in Lonavala and vacate the premises.

The petition - in which the channel has sought a stay on the LMC order - is expected to come up for hearing later Friday, according to the channel spokesperson.

The LMC gave a jolt to Colors TV Thursday, ordering it to stop the shooting of 'Bigg Boss-4' and move out of the premises as the channel's documents were not in order.

In the notice, the LMC pointed out that despite repeated reminders, the channel had not submitted the requisite documents and maps of the property where the shooting is being done.

Accordingly, the permission and no-objection certificate for the shooting could not be granted, the notice added.

It ordered the channel management to immediately stop the shooting, failing it would initiate necessary legal proceedings.

'The channel has been told to pack up shooting today (Thursday) itself and move out of the hill station, as per our demands last week. We had objected to the presence of the two Pakistani celebrities on the show which has created a law and order problem here,' Prakash Porwal, Pune district treasurer of social worker Anna Hazare's Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Andolan Nyas, told IANS.

Porwal pointed out that the LMC had already issued permission and no-objection certificate to the channel for the shooting on the abandoned factory premises of Anti-Friction Bearings Company Ltd.

He claimed the civic council's move came after he served a notice to Yogesh Godse Oct 12, threatening to drag him to court for violating the provisions of change of user - by permitting the shooting for 'Bigg Boss-4' - which goes against a Bombay High Court ruling.

'Some time ago, the Bombay High Court had ruled that change of user would not be permitted for any property in the town's jurisdiction. The venue where the shooting is being held is an old factory which has now been hired for commercial purposes. We have raised objections to this,' Porwal told IANS.

Besides, Porwal added that the presence of the Bigg Boss team had shattered the peace and calm of the quiet hill-station, around 120 km from Mumbai.

The town has seen a shutdown, several protests by the Shiv Sena, and fortress-like security since more than a fortnight after the shooting for 'Bigg Boss-4' started.