Good News for Cinema Goers! Telangana HC Orders 90-Day Notice for Ticket Price Hikes

The Telangana High Court has laid down a clear timeline for movie ticket price hikes, directing the state government to ensure that any such notification is issued well in advance of a film's release.

The ruling comes amid growing judicial scrutiny of last-minute price increases approved for big-budget films.

Telangana High Court fixes 90-day timeline for ticket price hikes

On Tuesday, January 20, the Telangana High Court told the state government that notifications permitting a hike in movie ticket prices must be issued at least 90 days before the release of a film. The direction was issued by a single-judge bench of Justice NV Shravan Kumar while hearing a petition challenging the ticket price hike approved for Chiranjeevi starrer "Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu."

During the hearing, Justice Kumar also issued a contempt notice to Home Department Principal Secretary CV Anand for approving the price hike despite an earlier court order that restrained such permissions.

Contempt notice issued over approval of fee hike

The court took serious note of the government allowing a fee hike even after previous judicial directions. Justice Kumar observed that the approval granted for "Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu" violated the court's earlier position on ticket pricing.

The judge had earlier intervened in a similar case involving Prabhas starrer "The Raja Saab." On January 9, he suspended a government order that allowed higher ticket prices for the film. During that hearing, the court also recorded that Cinematography Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy had publicly stated that there would be no more ticket price hikes and had urged producers not to approach him with such requests.

Court questions lack of financial disclosures by filmmakers

In the present case, the petitioners argued that ticket price hikes were being granted without basic financial transparency. They contended that filmmakers had not submitted crucial details such as the film's budget, sources of funding, or income and expenditure statements while seeking higher ticket rates.

According to the petitioners, approving price hikes without these disclosures amounts to a violation of the public's right to information. The court agreed with this submission and asked filmmakers to furnish all relevant financial documents before applying for any ticket price increase.

Filmmakers asked to submit full financial details

Backing the petitioners' argument, the High Court made it clear that movie producers must provide complete financial records when seeking permission for higher ticket prices. The bench emphasised that transparency is essential when decisions directly affect the public, especially cinema-goers who bear the cost of increased ticket rates.