Telangana HC cracks down on film ticket price hikes
The Telangana High Court has launched contempt proceedings against Principal Secretary (Home) CV Anand after he approved higher ticket prices for the new Chiranjeevi movie, despite a court order putting such hikes on hold.
This move follows a similar controversy over Prabhas's The Raja Saab, and the court wasn't happy that the issuance of the January 8 government memo was not brought to the notice of the court during the January 9 hearing.
What's the issue and what happens next?
Justice N V Shravan Kumar criticized state officials for violating court orders and noted ministers had publicly ruled out hikes.
The petitioner's lawyer also argued that approvals were given without checking basic financial details from the producers.
Now, the court says any future ticket price changes must be announced at least 90 days before a film releases.
The Managing Director of Telangana Film Development Corporation is now involved in the case, and Anand has been served a contempt notice.
The next hearing is set for February 3, along with other related petitions.