Coldplay Concert: Bombay High Court Dismisses PIL Seeking Guidelines On Ticket Scalping

The Bombay High Court has dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) concerning 'ticket scalping' and black marketing of online tickets for concerts and other events.

A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Amit Borkar said that the matter fell within the purview of police making and thus the Court could not entertain it. 

On 02 January 2024, while reserving the petition for orders, the Court orally observed that the petition seeks to do something which is the preserve of the executive.

The Court had remarked that there are other remedies available with the petitioner such as filing an FIR in case of scam or filing a complaint under the Consumer Protection Act in case of consumer complaints.

The PIL sought the formation of guidelines to address the practices of black marketing, ticket touting and ticket scalping of online tickets during concerts and other events.

The petition referred to the recent Coldplay concert where tickets available at the online booking website BookMyShow were allegedly sold in black market.

The petition alleged that BookMyShow manipulated the online sale of concert tickets and that the sale of concert tickets was marred by blatant and rampant irregularities, ticket touting, and ticket scalping incidents.

The petitioner argued that such practices have deprived consumers of their “fundamental right to have equal opportunity of buying tickers and getting access to entertainment and live events.” The petition stated that the illegal practices have caused substantial economic loss to the public exchequer.

The order will soon be uploaded. 

Case title: Amit Vyas vs. Union Of India (PIL/89/2024)