HC no to set aside case against Easy Movies for selling tickets sans nod   

HYDERABAD: In a setback to “Easy Movies”, an online ticketing provider for cinema halls, the Hyderabad High Court has refused to set aside the case registered against the firm for selling cinema tickets without permission and at a higher price to general public. There were specific overt acts attributed against the accused company and sufficient material was there to prosecute it for the alleged offences, the court opined.Justice N Balayogi passed this order recently in a petition filed by Behind Basiks Infotech private limited (Easy Movies) seeking to quash the case registered against the firm at Saifabad police station for the offences punishable under Section 9(A) of the AP Cinema (Regulations) Act 1955 and Sections 188, 420, 120-B, 109 read with Section 34 IPC. The police registered the case based on a complaint by advocate GL Narasimha Rao of the city.

Petitioner’s counsel contended that the initiation of prosecution was intended only to harass the company management. The facts stated by the police do no constitute ingredients of any of the alleged offences and it was nothing but abuse of process of court.The state public prosecutor told the court that the internet centre concerned has been collecting `58 per ticket instead of `50 and when the same was questioned by the complainant the accused internet centre states that he was not at all a licensing authority to question the method of selling tickets. When the complainant questioned the theatre manager he also gave the same answer. When the complainant enquired with the licensing authority, they replied that they have not permitted “Easy Movies” at any point of time to sell the tickets and that they were unable to stop illegal activities because they were powerful in all corners. 

Government authorities replied that they have not permitted Easy Movies at any point of time and they have not given any such permission to any one more particularly the accused to sell the ticket from 2006 onwards. The petitioner-accused catching the weakness of the theatres which were not attracting huge audience and situated in remote areas, approached these theatres and impressed them that they have permission and influence, and got 40 percent tickets i.e. about 200 to 300 seats. The petitioner-accused would take deposits from the other accused and sells the tickets with the support of internet centre as per its whims and fancies, he contended.