By News18

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Bengaluru, Sep 23 (PTI) The Karnataka High Court stayed enforcement of the Karnataka Cinemas (Regulation) (Amendment) Rules, 2025, which fixed a cap for movie ticket prices at Rs 200 across the state.
Justice Ravi V Hosmani granted the interim stay on Tuesday while hearing a petition filed by the Multiplex Association of India, along with other cinema stakeholders.
Appearing for the petitioners, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi argued that the government had arbitrarily introduced a proviso under the Karnataka Cinemas (Regulation) Act to cap ticket prices.
“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 submitted.
He pointed out that a similar government order issued in 2017 was suspended by the High Court and later withdrawn by the state.
Rohatgi contended that the law does not provide any power to the state to fix ticket rates, and such a restriction directly affects the right of cinema owners to conduct their business.
“There cannot be a direction that every ticket should cost Rs 200, just as there cannot be an order that all airlines must operate in economy class,” he argued.
Supporting the plea, Senior Advocates Uday Holla and Dhyan Chinnappa submitted that the amendment had been brought in by adding a proviso to Rule 55, which deals with ticket booths and not ticket pricing.
Chinnappa stressed that a proviso cannot enlarge the scope of the main provision. He said the amendment amounted to overreach, as the power to fix prices must flow from clear legislative backing.
Senior Advocate D R Ravishankar, appearing for another theatre operator, argued that movie ticket pricing is a matter of private contract between exhibitors and customers. He maintained that unless the law expressly provides for such regulation, the government cannot interfere.
“Any restriction of this nature 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 said.
Defending the state’s move, Additional Advocate General Ismail Zabiulla submitted that the amendment was introduced in the public interest.
He referred to the Budget speech of March 7 and the subsequent draft notification, which had drawn objections from some stakeholders. He argued that the government’s authority to regulate cinema halls flows from the Constitution, citing Entry 33 of List II, which empowers states to regulate theatres and entertainment.
The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) also sought to intervene, but the court observed that the matter was not a public interest litigation and the body would have to justify its locus. The High Court’s interim stay will remain in force until further orders. PTI COR KSU ADB