The Andhra Pradesh High Court has clarified that its orders that the cinema ticket fares be fixed in consultation with the Joint Collector (JC) concerned was applicable across the State.
The High Court clarification comes in the wake of the State government’s contentions that the High Court orders would be applicable only to theatre owners who filed petitions opposing the G.O. 35.
B. Adinarayana Rao, the advocate who represented the theatre managements on Monday, told the court that the Home Secretary asserted that the High Court orders would be applicable only to the petitioners. He also sought clarity from the High Court. In response to it, High Court Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice M. Satyanarayana Murthy stated that the relaxation in pricing of movie tickets would apply to all exhibitors in the State.
The matter was posted to Thursday as the advocate representing the Home Department sought more time to submit additional documents.
It may be recalled that the State government issued G.O. 35 in April this year reducing the prices of cinema tickets in the State. The theatre managements moved the High Court opposing the government order, arguing that the GO was issued in violation of earlier orders by the court. A single-judge court has issued interim orders allowing the petitioners to sell the tickets at previous rates. The State government, subsequently, filed an appeal before the Division Bench, which directed the exhibitors to fix ticket fares in consultation with the Joint Collectors.
