Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court Division Bench has temporarily lifted the restrictions on increasing movie ticket prices, clearing a major hurdle for the release of Akhanda 2.
A bench comprising Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya and Justice Gadi Praveen Kumar issued interim directions suspending the single-judge order that had stayed the state government’s memo permitting a hike in cinema ticket rates. The suspension will remain in force until December 15.
On December 10, the state government issued a memo allowing theatres to revise ticket prices upward. However, the decision was challenged in court, and the single judge subsequently stayed the implementation of that memo through interim orders.
Production house files urgent appeal
Aggrieved by the stay, the film’s production house, 14 Reels Entertainment, filed an urgent appeal on Friday afternoon seeking relief.
During the hearing, the counsel representing the producers argued that if the petitioners eventually win their case before the single judge, the production house would refund any amount collected due to the increased ticket prices.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the division bench stayed the single judge’s orders until December 15 and concluded the appeal proceedings.
The bench noted that issues relating to the authority to approve ticket price revisions and related matters should be decided by the single judge in the main petitions.
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