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Synopsis

Amid ongoing ticket scalping at recent music events, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in Delhi High Court seeking directions for the formation of a committee to curb ticket scalping at the recent concerts of Diljit Dosanjh (Dil-Luminati Tour) and Karan Aujla.

The bench, presided over by Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gadela, issued notice to the Union of India and also sought a response from the Centre. 

The bench was dealing with the PIL filed by Advocates Jatin Yadav, Gaurav Dua, Daksh Gupta and Saurabh Dua on behalf of Rohan Gupta, seeking direction for the formulation of guidelines to address the 'menace of ticket scalping'.

During the hearing, Advocate Daksh Gupta, Jatin Yadav and Gaurav Dua submitted before the bench that Zomato was the official ticketing partner for Dosanjh’s Dil-Luminati Tour. However, tickets were immediately sold out, which forced the fans to resort to other websites like StubHub, Viagogo, and Ticombo, where they had to buy tickets at exorbitant prices.

It was further submitted that following this incident, Zomato issued a clarification on September 16, declaring that tickets purchased through these platforms were 'invalid.'

In a blog post, Zomato stated, 'Please note that Zomato Live is the official ticketing partner for Diljit Dosanjh’s Dil-Luminati Tour in India, which is accessible only through the Zomato app or at https://www.zomato.com/live, and the tickets issued are in physical form only.'

Zomato further added, 'Tickets purchased from any other third-party direct selling or reselling platforms such as Viagogo, Ticombo, StubHub, and other unofficial sources will be considered invalid, and individuals holding these tickets will be denied entry to the event.'

It was submitted that Zomato released tickets in different phases and labelled them as 'sold out,' which created artificial scarcity, leading to unprecedented demand which further led to the availability of tickets at much higher prices on other platforms. The counsel alleged that is it a clear case of collusion to inflate demand and prices for the concerts.

As a result, the bench issued notice on the PIL and said that if there is an involvement of computers and bots, there might be collusion.

However,  Advocate Santosh Kumar Tripathi, appearing for the Delhi government, opposed the framing of guidelines for ticket scalping and said, "The issue is covered under section 112 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023".

According to the PIL, "ticket scalping refers to the practice of buying in bulk event tickets that are in high demand and then reselling them at inflated prices to make a profit at the cost of the general public"

The PIL further alleged, "The predatory resellers engaging in unethical practice of ticket scalping makes events less accessible to genuine fans and allowing unscrupulous scalpers to exploit high demand. This practice undermines the principles of fair market and, in many cases, involves the use of bots or unethical tactics to hoard tickets before legitimate buyers have a chance."

Lastly, the PIL called for a robust legal framework, legal enforcement, and technological measures to curb the negative effects of ticket scalping and the promotion of fair ticketing practices to ensure a more equitable and transparent system for the protection of consumers.

The present matter is now listed for February 18, 2025.

Case Title: Rohan Gupta v Union of India

Petitioners:  Advocates Jatin Yadav, Gaurav Dua, Daksh Gupta and Saurabh Dua