In a significant ruling, the Telangana High Court has set aside a government memorandum that allowed increased ticket prices for the recently released Prabhas-starrer film, 'The Raja Saab'. The court strongly reprimanded the state authorities for what it termed a "wilful violation and contempt of court orders."
Court Slams Repeated Violations of Film Fare Norms
Justice N V Shravan Kumar, hearing a lunch motion petition on Friday, expressed strong displeasure at the government's action. The petition challenged a memo issued late on Thursday evening, January 8, by the Special Chief Secretary of the Home Department. This memo relaxed the rules specified in a 2021 Government Order (GO) to permit higher ticket fares for the big-budget film released on Friday.
Advocate Vijay Gopal, representing the petitioner, argued that authorities were routinely hiking ticket prices whenever a major film was released, in clear violation of established norms. The court noted that this was not an isolated incident. Just last month, the High Court had suspended a similar government memo that hiked fares for the N Balakrishna film 'Akhanda 2', even initiating contempt proceedings against the same Special Chief Secretary.
Producers' Pleas Fall on Deaf Ears
During the hearing, the film's producers, People Media Factory Private Limited, presented their case. They contended that 'The Raja Saab' was a high-budget production from which over 1,000 workers benefited, justifying the need for revised ticket pricing. Ticket booking platform BookMyShow also intervened, stating they had already sold over 3 lakh tickets based on the new prices. Theatre owners echoed similar concerns, warning that any adverse order would severely impact their business.
However, the bench refused to accept these arguments, maintaining that it was solely examining the legality of the government's memo. The court held that issuing such an order was a direct violation of the laid-down rules and the 2021 GO regulating ticket fares.
A Call for Systemic Change, Not Piecemeal Orders
Justice Kumar made a crucial observation, suggesting that the state government should revisit the overarching GO on ticket fares instead of issuing separate orders for each big film. He pointed out that a division bench had already laid down a clear rule, which was binding on the authorities. "It can be challenged only in the Supreme Court or reviewed, but issuing orders in this manner is nothing but a wilful violation and contempt of court orders," the judge stated.
The bench also highlighted a contradiction, noting that while a minister had publicly ruled out any fare hike, officials had proceeded with the enhancing order. "Is the officer issuing the memo unaware of the rules?" the court questioned. After setting aside the controversial memo, the bench adjourned the matter for further hearing, leaving the door open for a more permanent resolution to this recurring legal tussle between the film industry and regulatory norms.
