NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Telangana High Court order directing the state government to notify any increase in film ticket prices at least 90 days before the film’s release date.
A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Atul S Chandorkar issued notice to the Telangana government and others on a petition filed by film producer Mythri Movie Makers.
The Supreme Court was hearing the producer’s appeal, challenging an order passed by the Telangana High Court bench, which refused to interfere in the interim order passed by a single-judge bench.
The single judge bench on January 20 passed an interim order directing the state to take any decision on hike in ticket prices 90 days before the release date of the film, as mandated by Section 7A of the Telangana Cinema Theaters Regulation Act, 1955.
The dispute arose over a memorandum issued by the Home Ministry on January 8, allowing prices to be hiked for the Chiranjeevi-starrer Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu, which was scheduled to release on January 12.
The memorandum was challenged by advocate Dashipalli Chandra Babu in the Supreme Court, who contended that such sudden increases in cinema ticket prices deprive the public of their right to provide reviews or representations under Section 7A of the Telangana Cinema Theaters Regulation Act, 1955.
The single judge ordered that if the government proposes to allow hike in ticket prices for any film in future, the decision must be made in public domain at least 90 days before the film’s release.
“After considering the above facts and circumstances, if in the future the Government takes a decision to raise the prices of cinema tickets, the defendants Nos. 1 and 2 are directed to place such decision in the public domain ninety days prior to the release of the film, enabling the concerned person to file an application under Section 7A of the Telangana Cinema Theaters Regulation Act, 1955,” the single judge said.
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