Firm Matters

Khaitan & Co advised and successfully represented FICCI – Multiplex Association of India and another before the Bombay High Court in Writ Petition No. 2221 of 2014 (“FICCI Writ”) filed against the State of Maharashtra and others (“Respondents”). The FICCI Writ was tagged with other writ petitions involving the same issue, namely Writ Petition No. 497 of 2014 filed by PVR Limited and Writ Petition No. 1755 of 2013 filed by Big Tree Entertainment Private Limited (collectively, the “said Writ Petitions”). 

By way of the said Writ Petitions, the Petitioners challenged Government Orders dated 4 April 2013 and 18 March 2014 issued by the Revenue and Forest Department, Government of Maharashtra (“GOs”), which prohibited cinema exhibitors, owners, and agents from charging any additional amount for online ticket sales, and further mandated that all cinema operators establish their own system for online ticketing without recovering service charges from viewers. The Petitioners assailed the validity of these GOs on the ground that they infringed their fundamental right under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India (“Constitution”) by imposing unreasonable restrictions on their right to carry on a lawful business and sought to impermissibly regulate private contractual terms. It was further contended that the issuance of such GOs lacked constitutional authority, particularly under Article 162 of the Constitution. 

The Hon’ble Bombay High Court, vide its judgment dated 10 July 2025, upheld the challenge and held that the impugned GOs were unconstitutional to the extent they prohibited the collection of convenience fees on online bookings. The Court found that such prohibitions unjustifiably interfered with the Petitioners’ right to conduct business and the freedom of private parties to determine commercial terms. It was also held that the GOs could not be sustained under Article 162 of the Constitution, as the State had not exercised its power in accordance with the constitutional framework.