Informist, Thursday, Jul. 10, 2025

By Surya Tripathi

--HC junks orders banning convenience fee on online movie ticket booking

--CONTEXT:HC ruling on Maharashtra govt orders to cinema theatres, operators

NEW DELHI – In a relief to PVR INOX Ltd., Big Tree Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., and other exhibitors, the Bombay High Court Thursday set aside the Maharashtra government's orders prohibiting cinema theatres, operators, owners, and agents from collecting convenience fees on online ticket booking. The court said that when there is no statutory rule to regulate the right of the petitioners to conduct the business, the imposition of such a restraint would infringe upon the legitimate rights of theatre owners.

"We are... of the view that the impugned G.O.(government orders) transgressed the fundamental rights under Article (19)(1)(g) (of the Indian Constitution) granted to the petitioners by prohibiting theatre owners and others from collecting the convenience fees from their customers," said a bench of Justice Jitendra Jain and Justice M.S. Sonak.

If business owners are not permitted to determine various facets of their business in accordance with the law, economic activity would come to a grinding halt, the court said. The choice of whether to book the ticket online or purchase it at the box office is left to the customer, the court pointed out.

The court said that if the customer feels it is convenient to book tickets online by not going to the theatre, then the state government cannot restrain the petitioners from collecting the convenience fee for providing the facility of online booking. The petitioners also have to invest in the technology, it said.

The court was hearing pleas against two government orders issued in 2013 and 2014 barring the collection of convenience fees. The petitioners had argued that the government's orders were violative of Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution as they were regulating contracts between private parties and imposing unreasonable restrictions on the right to carry on a legitimate business. There is no power conferred upon the state government under the Maharashtra Entertainment Duty Act, 1923, to issue such orders, they had said.

On Thursday, shares of PVR INOX Ltd. ended 1.0% higher at INR 1,011.90 on the National Stock Exchange. End

Edited by Rajeev Pai

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