The Bombay High Court (HC) has cancelled a 10-year-old Maharashtra government ban that stopped movie theatres from charging convenience fees for online ticket bookings. The court said this ban violated the basic right to do business under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.
The decision was made by a division bench of Justices Mahesh Sonak and Jitendra Jain. They ruled that the orders issued by the Revenue Commissioner on April 4, 2013, and March 18, 2014, had no legal backing. The judges said business owners must be allowed to decide how they run their businesses, as long as they follow the law.
According to the court, the state government cannot control business terms without a clear law. The orders were declared invalid as they had no legal basis. The court said banning the collection of convenience fees was against the rights of theatre owners and ticketing platforms.
The court noted that online ticketing is optional and involves technology and infrastructure costs. Petitioners said people who do not want to pay the extra charge can always buy tickets directly at the theatre.
The court agreed and said the final choice is with the consumer. It said the government cannot force businesses to provide optional services for free. The instructions from the government were not supported by any law and could not take away the rights of the petitioners.
The case was filed by PVR Ltd., Big Tree Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. (which runs BookMyShow), and the FICCI-Multiplex Association of India. They challenged the 2013 and 2014 orders, saying the ban was unfair.
The High Court had earlier put an interim stay on the orders in July 2014. This means that while the case was still going on, theatres were allowed to continue charging convenience fees.
With this final ruling, the High Court has fully struck down the state’s orders. The judgement is expected to help private companies in the entertainment and events industry that offer online booking services.
Share
Tweet
