Soon after the Andhra Pradesh High Court had suspended the state government’s order on the reduction of ticket prices in cinema halls and theatres, the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government filed a lunch motion petition asking for a stay on the order at the court.
Ahead of the big line-up of heavy-budgeted films from the Telugu film industry, the state government had recently passed a bill forbidding the over-the-counter sale of movie tickets, making it mandatory to sell them only through the State-run online booking platform. Also curbing the number of shows per day to four, the government noted that films will be screened only during prescribed timings and tickets will be sold at prices fixed by the government. The step was a follow-up to the Andhra Pradesh government’s Order No.35, issued in April, to reduce the ticket prices. It had also advised theatre management on making provisions for online ticketing which should not be more than the maximum permissible admission rate for that class in that particular area.
Opposing the order, on Tuesday, a petition was filed by the theatre owners who argued that the government intervening in the ticket prices was not “appropriate” and it is up to the theatre owners to decide on the prices. Subsequently, the court granted permission to sell the tickets at the old rates.
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However, soon after the order was passed, the state government filed a lunch motion, challenging the court order, as per The Hans India report. When the hearing of the same came up on Thursday, the court ordered the cinema hall owners to present a proposal comprising of ticket prices before the joint collector, who would later take a decision on the prices. The court also said that a committee will be set up to decide on the ticket prices.
The next hearing is scheduled to take place on Monday.