A bench comprising Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela issued a notice to the Union ministries of Information and Broadcasting and Electronics and Information Technology, along with private entities Stubhub Inc, Viagogo Entertainment Inc, and Bigtree Entertainment Pvt Ltd.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court requested the Centre’s response regarding a plea for a regulatory framework to oversee the resale of concert tickets through authorized platforms, aiming to curb ‘illegal’ selling practices.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela issued a notice to the Union ministries of Information and Broadcasting and Electronics and Information Technology, along with private entities Stubhub Inc, Viagogo Entertainment Inc, and Bigtree Entertainment Pvt Ltd.
The court mandated that replies be submitted within four weeks and scheduled the next hearing for February 18, 2025, alongside a similar petition.
BRIEF FACTS
The petition, presented by Samridhi and four others, represented by senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao and advocate Malak Bhatt, highlighted an upcoming concert by British rock band Coldplay. It argued that online ticketing platforms like BookmyShow should provide a seamless digital ticketing solution to the public to combat black-marketing and unauthorized ticket sales.
The plea noted that the announcement of high-demand events, such as cricket matches and concerts by popular artists like Diljit Dosanjh and Coldplay, leads to a surge in black-marketing activities, where tickets are sold at inflated prices through unauthorized channels, taking advantage of the general public.
Coldplay partnered with BMS for ticket sales and announced this to prevent unauthorized sales, yet other platforms have also begun selling tickets unlawfully.
The petition urged Bigtree Entertainment Pvt Ltd, the owner of BMS, to implement measures to prevent widespread unauthorized ticket sales and block “bots” from acquiring large quantities of tickets unlawfully. It also called for the Centre to prohibit these re-sellers from operating illegally in India.
Previously, the bench had sought responses from the Centre and the Delhi government regarding a public interest litigation (PIL) alleging “illegal, manipulative, and exploitative” ticket scalping practices, which result in event tickets being resold at inflated prices.
The plea emphasized that ticket scalping distorts the fairness of the ticket-buying process and undermines the fan experience by creating an environment where only those willing to pay exorbitant amounts can attend events.
It requested the formation of a committee to address the issue, which allegedly occurred during the booking of Diljit Dosanjh’s “Dil-Luminati Tour” scheduled for October 26 at JLN Stadium in the national capital.
