Moviegoers on Wednesday complained of being fleeced at sales counters of single screen theatres screening Deepavali release Sarkar here.

A fan, who watched the show on the first day, said that he paid ₹600 per ticket for an early morning show. “Though it is frowned upon, I paid extra for a fan-show because it is a Vijay starrer. We did not want to miss out on the experience,” he said.

On November 1, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court directed cinema halls in Madurai to sell tickets at rates fixed by the government as per a government order issued in 2017 towards the regulation of movie ticket price across the State.

P. Mahendra Pandi, who filed a public interest litigation seeking regularisation of film ticket fares, said that fan shows were a huge contribution towards violations. “There is rampant violation of the GO issued and of the Court’s instructions. On the second day as well, people continue to buy tickets for ₹300 over the counter and ₹ 450 in black across the district,” he said.

Violation of the court’s order would lead to the cancellation of the C-form licence. Veera. Kathiravan, senior advocate, said that theatres in taluks like Usilampatti and many others in the city in areas like Anna Nagar continued to flout rules but no action was taken against them.

Without a ceiling specified for the tickets, Mr. Kathiravan said, it would lead to huge loss of revenue for the government as tax violations would be rampant.

Collector S. Natarajan said that committees had been formed to monitor cinema theatres across the district and instructions had already been provided.

“Deputy Collectors have time until November 12 to file reports regarding the status. We will issue show cause notices to the theatre owners based on the reports and later take action after gauging response,” he said.