Telangana high court pulls up home department over repeated movie ticket fare hikes

Hyderabad: Taking strong exception to what it described as a recurring disregard for judicial directions, Telangana high court expressed serious displeasure over the state home department’s repeated issuance of orders permitting hikes in cinema ticket prices despite existing court restraints.Observing a ‘pattern of non-compliance,’ the court questioned the purpose of issuing administrative orders that run contrary to its directions.“This is the sixth or seventh memo issued by the home secretary (in recent times), enhancing the movie ticket prices, despite a restraining order from the high court. What is the point in issuing such orders (in violation of court orders)?” said Justice NV Shravan Kumar while hearing a contempt petition challenging the ticket rate hike for Tollywood’s latest release, Peddi. The matter was adjourned to June 15 for further hearing.Rather than issuing temporary administrative memos that conflict with court orders, Justice Kumar advised the state’s counsel to address the root issue.The contempt petition was filed by advocate Dachepally Chandra Babu against principal secretary (home department) Shikha Goel, alleging that she had issued a memo in violation of court orders, thereby allowing filmmakers to increase ticket prices.