High Court Slams TG Govt on Ticket Price Hikes

Telangana High Court has strongly criticized the state government for allowing movie ticket prices to go up without proper rules. The issue came up after the government issued a special order (GO) permitting higher ticket rates for Pawan Kalyan’s new movie OG.

Earlier, a single judge suspended the government’s order permitting the hike. The producers then approached a division bench, but the matter was sent back to the single judge for a detailed hearing. On Friday, Justice NV Shravan Kumar heard arguments from all sides, lawyers for the producers argued that Telugu cinema has earned global recognition through big-budget films, and higher ticket prices were needed to support such projects.

They also said nobody was forced to watch on day one, and since tickets were already sold out, it was impractical to stop the hike. The government’s lawyer defended the memo, while the petitioner Mallesh Yadav said the government had no authority to issue it.

Justice Shravan Kumar expressed displeasure that the government had not filed counter-affidavits in four earlier cases on the same issue. He stressed that such negligence could not continue and the matter needed to be settled decisively. Extending the suspension of the memo beyond September 25, the court ordered the government to file its counter without fail..

Later, the producers of OG, DVV Entertainments, approached the court again. Hearing the matter, the judge made it clear that the earlier order of suspension still stands. The court warned that ticket prices cannot be increased as one pleases.

The judge questioned the government, asking why it was not implementing GO 120, which was already issued to control ticket prices. The court said, “How can ticket rates be raised at will? What about the judgment we already gave? Why are you ignoring your own order?”

The High Court was also unhappy that even though several petitions were filed earlier, the government never submitted a counter reply. This time, the court made it compulsory for the government to file a counter without fail.

This case has once again brought focus to the tug-of-war between filmmakers, who want higher ticket rates to cover big budgets and the rules set by the government to protect the common audience. The High Court’s stand makes it clear that rules cannot be ignored and that movie lovers should not be burdened unfairly with high ticket prices.