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Synopsis

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay High Court seeking the issuance of guidelines to curb black marketing and ticket scalping at major events.

The PIL, filed by Advocate Amit Vyas, was mentioned today before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar. The bench has scheduled the hearing for after the Diwali vacation.

The PIL argues that the practice of ticket scalping and hoarding violates the fundamental rights of the public under Article 14, Article 15(2), Article 19, and Article 21 of the Constitution.

“The practice of ticket scalping and hoarding violates the fundamental rights of the public under Article 14 (Right to Equality), Article 15(2)(Right of access to public entertainment), Article 19(Freedom of speech and expression) and Article 21 (Right to Life and Liberty) of the constitution. The current lack stringent laws and regulation allows discriminatory practices in access to public events, where genuine consumers are denied equal opportunity to purchase tickets to public entertainment,” the plea states.

It also argued that the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, under Rule 4(9) and Rule 4(11), mandate that e-commerce entities ensure fair and non-deceptive practices.

Further, it states that e-commerce platforms are mandated to refrain from recording the automatic consent of purchasers on their platforms. However, in the absence of effective regulations in the ticketing sector, entities like BookMyShow Live are not complying with these protection norms, thereby engaging in practices detrimental to the interest of the public.

The PIL seeks direction to be issued to constitute an Expert Committee, led by a Retired Judge of the High Court and including a cyber expert, to conduct a study and recommend measures required to control and regulate the sale of online tickets for Major Events, keeping in mind the principles of parity, right to public entertainment, tax implications and all other relevant factors in the overall interest of members of the public at large who attend such Major Events.

It further states that pending the Expert Committee's report and findings, a Monitoring Committee led by a Retired Judge of the High Court and including a Cyber Expert, be appointed to take measures, based on immediate consultation and recommendation of Central and State government, for effective and mandatory adoption, implementation and maintenance of adequate security measures for online ticketing system of Major Events.