Coldplay concert chaos: PIL filed against ticket scalping, black marketing
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay High Court, seeking guidelines to curb black marketing and ticket scalping at big events. The plea was filed by advocate Amit Vyas, who pointed out alleged irregularities during the online sale of tickets for British band Coldplay's upcoming concert in Mumbai. The matter was mentioned for urgent hearing before a division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar on Monday.
Alleged irregularities in Coldplay concert ticket sales
Vyas's petition claims several irregularities and illegal activities took place during the sale of tickets for the Coldplay concert, released on BookMyShow. The petition alleged, "The sale of online tickets was apparently manipulated by BookMyShow in such a manner that even before mid-noon on the day the tickets were made available, people got logged out and were not allowed to access the website." The plea also highlighted that secondary websites are simultaneously selling these concert tickets at inflated prices.
'Such illegal practices deprive people of equal opportunity'
The PIL further claimed that these purported illegal practices rob people of their fundamental right to an equal opportunity to access public entertainment. It stressed, "The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 mandate e-commerce entities to ensure fair and non-deceptive practices. However, in the absence of effective regulations in the ticketing sector, entities such as BookMyShow are not complying with the rules."
Court noted ongoing police inquiry, scheduled next hearing
The bench noted that a police inquiry into the matter is already underway and listed the matter for the next hearing in November, after the Diwali vacation. Vyas's plea calls on the court to lay down strict guidelines to prevent black marketing, ticket scalping, and online ticket touting for major events. The PIL also pointed out similar illegal activities during IPL matches, the 2023 Cricket World Cup matches, and concerts of singers Taylor Swift and Diljit Dosanjh.
