నువ్వు ఎంత నీచ్ కమీనే నాకు తెలుసు | RK Roja | Nagari MLA Gali Bhanu Prakash

In a major setback to the producers of The Raja Saab, the Telangana High Court on Friday suspended the government memo that permitted an increase in movie ticket prices. The court also directed ticketing platform BookMyShow to sell tickets only at the previously approved rates until further orders.

The High Court was hearing petitions challenging the hike in ticket prices for the film. Advocate Vijay Gopal, appearing on behalf of the petitioners, argued that authorities were routinely granting ticket price hikes in violation of established norms whenever big-budget films are released.

He informed the court that the Home Department Secretary does not have the legal authority to issue memos allowing ticket price increases. As per existing rules, only District Collectors — and in Hyderabad, the Commissioner of Police — are empowered to grant permissions for ticket price hikes and benefit shows.

After hearing the arguments, the court expressed strong displeasure over the recurring practice of issuing such memos. Questioning the government pleader, the judge asked why permissions are “cleverly” issued every time a major film hits theatres.

The court also noted that the concerned minister had recently made a public statement assuring that ticket prices would not be increased. “Despite that assurance, permissions are being granted repeatedly. This is not the first time the court has raised this issue. How many times must we say this before your approach changes?” the court observed.

Expressing concern over the burden on the public, the court remarked that frequent ticket price hikes cause hardship to common moviegoers. “We too go to cinemas and we know the ticket prices,” the judge noted.

Taking serious note of the issue, the High Court suspended the ticket price hike memo and instructed BookMyShow to collect ticket charges strictly at the old rates until further orders. The decision offers immediate relief to audiences and once again brings the issue of arbitrary ticket price hikes during major film releases under judicial scrutiny.