Court Halts ₹200 Movie Ticket Limit, Questions State’s Legal Basis

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday issued an interim stay on the enforcement of the Karnataka Cinemas (Regulation) (Amendment) Rules, 2025, which imposed a Rs 200 cap on movie ticket prices across the state. Justice Ravi V Hosmani granted the stay while hearing a petition filed by the Multiplex Association of India and other cinema stakeholders, delivering a significant reprieve to theatre operators challenging the state’s regulatory overreach.

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the petitioners, argued that the state government’s decision to cap ticket prices lacked legal grounding and was arbitrarily imposed. “What is the basis for fixing Rs 200, if customers want to pay more for enhanced facilities? There is no rationale in imposing a uniform ceiling,” Rohatgi contended. He highlighted a precedent from 2017, when a similar government order was suspended by the High Court and later withdrawn, underscoring the absence of statutory authority to regulate ticket pricing.

Supporting the petition, Senior Advocates Uday Holla and Dhyan Chinnappa argued that the amendment, introduced via a proviso to Rule 55 of the Karnataka Cinemas (Regulation) Act, was invalid as it dealt with ticket booths, not pricing. Chinnappa emphasized that a proviso cannot expand the scope of the main provision, labeling the amendment as an overreach without legislative backing.

Senior Advocate D R Ravishankar, representing another theatre operator, further asserted that ticket pricing is a private contract between exhibitors and customers. “Any restriction must be traceable to legislation and backed by empirical data, otherwise it infringes on the right to carry on business under Article 19(1)(g),” he argued.

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The state, represented by Additional Advocate General Ismail Zabiulla, defended the amendment as a public interest measure, citing Entry 33 of List II in the Constitution, which empowers states to regulate theatres and entertainment. Zabiulla referenced the state’s March 7 Budget speech and a draft notification that invited stakeholder objections, arguing that the government’s authority was constitutionally sound.

The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce sought to intervene, but the court noted that the case was not a public interest litigation and required the body to establish its locus. The interim stay will remain in effect until further court orders, providing temporary relief to cinema owners and raising questions about the state’s regulatory powers over private businesses in the entertainment sector.

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