Movie ticket price: Karnataka High Court division bench directs for refund mechanism

A vacation bench of the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday modified the interim order passed by the single judge on September 23 on the operation of the Karnataka Cinemas (Regulation) (Amendment) Rules 2025, which caps movie ticket price at Rs 200 across the state.

A division bench comprising Justice Suraj Govindaraj and Justice Rajesh Rai K directed the Multiplex Association of India and other such entities to maintain accounts of all the tickets sold (excluding GST) and to submit a monthly statement to the licensing authority in order to refund the money to the consumers in case they fail in their challenge against the rule.

The vacation bench was hearing the appeals filed by Karnataka State Film Chamber of Commerce and others challenging the interim order passed by the single bench. The single bench had stayed the proviso to Rule 55 (6) to the Karnataka Cinemas (Regulation) (Amendment) Rules 2025 in a batch of petitions filed by the Multiplex Association of India and others.

The counsel appearing for the film chamber of commerce contended that a legislative policy cannot be stayed in an interim order. The division bench observed that the money collected during the pendency of the petitions would have played on the mind of the single judge.

After considering the submissions, the division bench passed the directions to protect the financial interests of all concerned, pending final adjudication of the writ appeal/petition. The bench directed all multiplexes operating under the association to maintain comprehensive and auditable records for every ticket sold. This includes date and time of sale, mode of booking (online or at physical counters), mode of payment (credit/debit card, UPI, net banking, or cash), and amount collected.

“In the event that the petitioners (multiplex association) fail in the final adjudication of this writ Appeal/Petition, all amounts collected through electronic means (excluding applicable GST) during the pendency of this litigation must be refunded to the individual consumers who booked the tickets, via the same payment method used for booking,” the bench said. 

Refund processing plan

The bench further said that the association shall submit a refund processing plan to the licensing authority for approval within 45 days, detailing the mechanism for refunds to be made to consumers. “The same on approval by licensing authority would have to be placed before this court for final approval,” the bench said.

Insofar as cash-based ticket sales, the multiplexes must issue numbered, time-stamped receipts to consumers, the court said, directing the association to propose a mechanism to facilitate voluntary refund claims for consumers who paid in cash, subject to court approval upon final adjudication. The bench also said that the multiplexes shall submit monthly consolidated reports of ticket sales and amounts collected (both electronic and cash), along with a summary of GST remitted, to the licensing authority by the 15th of each succeeding month.

“In the event that any multiplex fails to comply with the directions set out in this order, particularly with respect to record maintenance or timely reporting, such multiplexes shall lose the benefit of the interim arrangement granted by this court,” the court said.

The division bench has also directed the multiplexes to exhibit the summary of the order on the ticket booking portal, both online and physical counters.

The same shall also be exhibited on-screen before each movie screening in all multiplexes for the duration of at least 30 seconds, in English and the regional language, the court said.