New Delhi, Oct. 15: The Supreme Court today stayed the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce?s decision to impose a seven-week moratorium on the screening of non-Kannada films in the state.

A division bench of Justices . Santosh Hegde and S.B. Sinha also issued notices to the governments of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

The stay order came on a petition by Gemini Films fearing that similar bans could be imposed in the three southern states by their respective film chambers ? the controversy has snowballed into a major row among the south Indian film chambers.

The Karnataka chamber argues that Kannada films are suffering and find a screening in their home state hard to come by due to ?gross commercialisation? and ?encroachment? by films in other south Indian languages.

But Gemini Films said the chamber?s decision violated its fundamental rights to trade and commerce and that the decision to screen only Kannada films affected movies made in other languages.

Appearing for the company, senior counsel D.K. Garg said the moratorium on non-Kannada films also violated other fundamental rights ?to profession, equality and right to life? as it prohibited exhibition of other films.

Theatres in Karnataka were closed yesterday as owners rejected a government plea to put on hold screening of non-Kannada films.

Kannada film producers and directors have demanded that the government impose a moratorium and exhibitors have said they will not follow it. Chief minister . Dharam Singh met theatre owners but failed to break the deadlock.